


Another Star Family

by Yvette J (HowNovel)



Category: Starman (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-12-03
Updated: 2000-12-03
Packaged: 2017-10-25 16:29:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/272376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowNovel/pseuds/Yvette%20J
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Feeling like an oddity during the holiday season has Scott feeling somewhat depressed.  When Paul discovers that another sphere can be detected in a small town, they meet up with Luna, a young woman who has been carrying these very same feelings for an even longer duration of time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Star Family

  
**Another Star Family**  
By: YvetteJ

**©2000**  


All rights reserved. This story is a work of fiction based on characters and situations created in the 1984 feature film and 1986-87 television series, _STARMAN_. It is an amateur publication circulated without profit for the enjoyment of fellow fans. No infringement of existing copyrights is intended.  
---  
  
**December 1987**  


.

Luna Smith entered her empty apartment and closed the door behind her. It had been another long day and although she enjoyed her work at the local post office, she was really glad that her shift was over. It had been a pretty stressful week and now she could look forward to an entire weekend to herself. She glanced over and saw the small metallic marble that sat in the middle of her collection of minerals. The light from the full moon shone in through the window casting an eerie shadow across the small pinball sized object that she had treasured ever since she was a small child.

This had been the worst week for her, perhaps because it was so close to the holidays and everyone was insistent on mailing parcels and generally in a foul mood. The Christmas rush was in full swing, and there was no question in her mind that it meant she had to hold tightly to her own supply of patience when it came to dealing with irate customers.

She rubbed her tired feet once she sat down on the sofa. After working there a little over a year, she should be used to the job, but the truth was, she knew that she would never get used to the rush that took place during the holiday season. Right now, the post office was the last place she wanted to see.

She stood up and wearily walked into the kitchen and retrieved a large bottle of mineral water. As she carried the bottle back into the living room, her gaze came to rest on the small marble that she treasured. She believed that this marble acted as the link to her family, or rather, the family she often wondered about the existence of. She sighed deeply as she reached over and brushed her hand across the small object. She was about to reach down and pick it up, but as soon as her hand brushed against it, she could hear the phone ringing, and her intentions were forgotten as she walked over to the coffee table to pick it up.

“Hello,” she said wearily into the receiver.

“Luna, hi, it’s Tammy.”

Luna sighed deeply upon hearing the familiar voice of one of her colleagues. As much as she liked Tammy, she could not help but wonder what it was the girl wanted. It seemed like every time Tammy called, she needed help of some kind. Tammy was fresh out of high school, 18 and had big dreams of going to college and studying to become an architect. Luna secretly admired the girl’s ambition, because if the truth were known, she really had none of her own. These differences made her begin to ponder her own lonely and boring existence.

“I have a problem and need your help,” Tammy said. “I know I ask you to do a lot for me, but this time it’s an emergency. My sister’s about to have her baby and my mom wants me to drive her to the hospital tomorrow morning. Only trouble is, Frank scheduled me to work, and he said I can’t get out of it unless someone was to come in and take my place. It’s only two hours, from ten until noon.”

Luna ran her hands through her auburn hair. _It always seemed to be this way,_ she thought to herself. _The one weekend where I should be allowed to sleep in, and someone needs me to take their place. Maybe they always ask because I’m so nice about it, but then again, Tammy’s sister is about to have a baby._ The thoughts whirled through her mind, and finally she spoke, her voice soft, but filled with understanding. “I guess I can take your place tomorrow morning, but this is the last time.”

“I know, that's what you said the last time you helped me out, but I really do owe you one this time,” Tammy said, her worried sounding voice shifting to that of relief.

“Is something else wrong?” Luna asked.

“No, I’ve just been really worried about Sue, she’s been having a lot of problems during her pregnancy, and I hope that the baby will be okay,” Tammy said.

“I’m sure everything will be okay, Tammy,” Luna said comfortingly.

“Thanks; I guess I’d better go, I’ll see you Monday,” Tammy said. “I’ll call Frank and tell him that you’ll be coming in tomorrow, okay?”

She sighed deeply when she heard Tammy mention Frank’s name. He was supposed to be her boss, but her feelings for him were completely confusing. She glanced down at her palms and realized how sweaty they were. Her feelings for him were hidden behind her strong determination to maintain a professional environment at her workplace and she knew better than to expose to anyone else the romantic emotions she felt whenever his name was even mentioned.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll see you later,” Luna hung up the phone, walked over to the shelf of minerals, and picked up the small marble. She walked back over to the sofa and sat back down. At this moment, her head felt like it was spinning out of control. Now I have to work tomorrow and I feel like I've been hit by a bus, she thought to herself as she returned the marble to the shelf it belonged.

Luna Smith had, for much of her life suffered from extreme migraine headaches and often times they had been so severe that she had been sent to the hospital for treatment.  
 _You fool,_ she chastised herself, _when will you learn that it’s okay to say no? After all sometimes you do have to look out for yourself._ The thoughts buzzed around in her head as she grabbed the remote control from off the coffee table and turned on the television set.

After some time had passed, she finally turned off the television set and went down the hall to her bedroom. She lay down on the bed, set the alarm for the following morning, and drifted off to sleep.  
  
---  
  
As Paul Forrester and his teenaged son Scott Hayden arrived at their campsite, the sky overhead was filled with stars. Scott’s thoughts had been drifting ever since they had managed to escape the persistent Federal Security Agency agent, George Fox, earlier that week. Now, both father and son were nervous about staying in a hotel, simply because of the horrible situation that had led them to almost getting captured. As a result of this, Scott had become rather quiet during the last couple of days and Paul was becoming worried. It was clear that the alien was at a loss as to how to get his son over the despondency that had overwhelmed him.

As they were sitting down on the ground and arranging the sticks for their campfire, Paul looked over at his half-human son, “Scott?”

The teenager looked at his father. “Yeah,” he offered, the lack of energy in the boy’s voice was something that Paul could not help but take notice of.

“Is there something wrong?” Paul asked gently. “You’ve been really quiet these last few days. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really, I’ve just been thinking about some stuff is all,” Scott answered looking back across the adjacent river. His intent was to remain silent in hopes that his father would simply let it ride, but Paul would not.

“What have you been thinking about?”

“Nothing,” the boy hedged.

“Oh come now, Scott, I can tell that you’re worried about something, please tell me what it is,” Paul responded.

“Okay, I’m just a little bit afraid is all,” Scott admitted after some uncomfortable moments had passed between them.

“Afraid? Why?”

“I don’t know, I guess it’s kind of stupid,” Scott began. “It’ll probably sound stupid, but I’m afraid that one day I won’t be able to use the sphere anymore. Maybe, I’ll grow out of it or something.”

Paul shook his head emphatically. “That won’t ever happen.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“You’re my son and using the sphere is a part of your birthright. You inherited these abilities from me, and those are enhanced by what you have inherited from your mother. Those abilities can only grow stronger with practice.”

“If I stop trying then they will go away?” Scott asked.

Paul shook his head. “They will always be deep inside of you. If, during the past two years you had not practiced, you would still possess the ability to use the sphere, but it would be like that time you tried and ended up making the lights appear above the lake.”

“Thanks Dad. I feel a little better knowing that,” Scott said with a weak smile as he remembered that particular instance. He dug in his pocket and pulled the small round object and looked down at it. “I never thought a gift from my father would bring me into so much trouble, though.”

Paul looked at his son and although he was smiling, there was a crease along the alien’s forehead; a sign of concern. “I get the feeling that there’s something else bothering you besides the abilities you possess in using the sphere.”

Scott nodded, “yeah, it’s just that I sometimes wish that I wasn't the only one here that half human and half whatever it is you are, makes me feel a little bit like milk.”

“You’re a bit more special than milk,” Paul said smiling. “I know sometimes you feel a little isolated here, being the only one of your kind. If I could make things easier for you, I would. You should see yourself as special, Scott, someone unique in the universe. Maybe you should try to see that as a blessing and not so much as a curse.”

“I don’t think you’re a curse, Dad. I mean; I guess when we were in San Leon, I had said that I wished that you hadn’t come back. Do you remember that?"

“Yes,” Paul whispered with a trace of sadness in his voice. Forgetting his son’s harsh words was not an easy task. He was also fully aware that his son periodically did feel a sense of guilt for having lashed out at him. Right now, it seemed as though Scott was still coping with his feelings of recrimination for having acted as he had done.

“I wish I could eat those words,” Scott said softly as he tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. “I guess lately, I've been feeling kind of bad about the way I treated you right after you came back. I know that at least you cared enough to come and be with me. I know that there are a lot of parents who would never even do that for their kids. I feel pretty special when I think about how you came from across the galaxy to be there for me, and I treated you so badly...” The teenager’s voice trailed and Paul could see the tears brimming beneath his son’s eyes.

Inching closer to his son, the alien rested a gentle hand on Scott’s shoulder. “It’s all right, Scott. I will admit that at first I didn’t understand why you were so angry and reacted that way. But, I know that you must have been hurt because I wasn’t a part of your life for so long. I should have come back sooner, but I really did believe that you were with your mother, and that you were getting along fine without me. I didn’t realize how mistaken I was until you called me and I was able to return.”

Scott shook his head; the tears now escaping from beneath his eyes. “No, it’s not okay.” He looked up at his father, the anguish evident. “I love you, Dad, and I know I did a lot of things that were wrong to you. I just can’t forgive myself for them.”

“I’m sorry you’re feeling so much pain because of all of this,” Paul said softly. “You know I wish that there was something I could do for you. I know it hasn’t been easy for you, always changing homes and schools, and doing all that without your mother here to help you. I think you want her to be with you now more than you are willing to admit and I really do wish we could find her soon, because I know, right now, you really need her.”

Scott nodded weakly, his shoulders slumping as he looked out at the vastness of the stars which were blanketed across the night sky. He did not notice that Paul had moved even closer to him until he felt the strong arms of his father wrapping around him and pulling him into his arms.

“I love you too, Scott,” the Starman whispered as he felt the tears that his young son had been holding back.  
  
---  
  
Morning dawned and Luna crawled out of bed. The first thing she noticed was that her migraine headache was still present, and she was feeling increasingly weak from the combination of exhaustion and the pains in her head. Instead of staying in bed, as she felt inclined to do, she got up and quickly showered before getting dressed. As she was finishing with her getting dressed routine, she wondered if she would be able to get through this morning without collapsing.

Normally, when she had these kinds of headaches, it had been the result of endlessly contemplating where and who her biological father was. It also generally happened whenever she would sit in the living room and fiddle with the small marble. Now, since returning the object to its place on the mantle, her headache had gotten worse. Now, she was left to ponder whether or not she should carry the marble in her pocket that day. Logic was arguing that this would counter the headache she was having.

Dismissing this, she reached for her toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste and once she had brushed her teeth, she washed her face, ran the brush through her hair, and exited the bathroom.

As she came out into the living room, she could see sunlight shining in through the window. This light would reflect off the silver marble and ultimately cast fragments of broken light throughout the room.

As a child growing up, Luna had always carried the marble with her to school. Then one day, she began having strange emotional responses to it. Odd things began to happen and pretty soon blue lights were detected by other kids in several of Luna’s classes. At first it had been small and insignificant situations, but later after her class started discussing genealogy, the blue lights intensified. Later, after feeling as though there was a connection between the small marble and the mystery surrounding her own background, Luna opted to burying the small marble in the bottom of her drawer and striving to ignore the feelings it generated.

For much of her young life, Luna had been an orphan. Her mother had left her when she was two years old, a note pinned to her clothes, and lying in a small bassinet on the front door of a children’s home. The note simply had her first name printed on it, no family name, or address, and the small marble had been placed beside her. It had been as though she had simply dropped out of the sky. No one even knew her family name, and finally the foster parents she had been with when she was little had legally gave her their family name, Smith. A year later, both of them had died, and she was sent to a number of temporary homes until she had turned 18. The whereabouts of her birth parents was unknown and the only clue she had was the small marble her mother had left with her before she had vanished. There was no explanation about her family and had no one to ask about what the object was or where it had come from.

She reached over and picked up the marble and looked down at it. As was the case during the other times when she touched it, her thoughts were suddenly centered on her father. Moments later, she put the object inside her pocket and backed away from the mantle. Instead of questioning this motivation to carry it, she walked slowly into the kitchen in search of something to eat for breakfast.

Inside the small room, she glanced down at her watch and realizing how late it was, she quickly opened the cabinet and pulled out a box of pop tarts. Opening the box, she pulled out one of the silver packets before tossing the box back on the counter and rushed out of the kitchen. Although, she hated having to go to work on her day off, she knew that she did not want to get Tammy into trouble if she was late coming in. Luna could tell that the younger girl was enduring enough stress and she did not want to add to it. She grabbed her thick jacket and put it on while at the same time rushing to the front door.

Outside, she got in her car but first drove to a convenience store and picked up a bottle of cola. She figured that this would be the one thing that would keep her awake while she was at work.

Within about ten minutes, she parked her car and went inside the small office building. The post office was on the first floor and as she came inside, she was greeted by her boss. Frank Giddings was five years older than Luna, had green eyes and a cheery disposition. He smiled at her when he saw her approaching. “Luna, I really appreciate you coming in this morning. Tammy was frantic yesterday when I told her she had to work, and though I tried to rearrange the schedule, there was really no way for me to do it. I know you wanted to be home this weekend.”

“Forget about it, Frank. Maybe next weekend I can stay home,” she said and yawned, “excuse me.” Before waiting for him to respond, she walked slowly towards the podium that acted as the stations for the various employees. Along an adjacent wall there was a door, she went over, opened the door, and went inside.

Instead of letting her go, Frank followed, the concern he had for the young woman was growing. He knew that she was flexible, but he wondered if she was too flexible. Her manner had always been cordial, but he was starting to think that she was becoming the go to person whenever the postal workers wanted to skip out of working a shift that did not suit them. He watched as she seated herself at the station and started to make ready to open the window.

“Luna, are you sure you’re all right? You look really drained today.” Frank said and ran his hand through his short dark hair. “If you’re not feeling well, then you should go home.”

“No, I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep so well last night is al,” she said with forced optimism.

Frank nodded, but there was something in him that made him want to look out for her. No one else seemed to be around to do so, and while he knew that she had no real family to speak of, she rarely took time off for herself. Whenever she did, there always seemed to be someone lurking about who wanted her to switch shifts with them. She did so much to accommodate other people and so little to accommodate herself, he thought as he found himself staring at her. There was an uncanny attraction there, but because of his position, he did not feel as though he could pursue it and instead tried to hide it from her as well as the other ladies that worked under him.

After a few awkward moments of silence, he could hear Louise, one of the other managers calling Luna’s name. He watched as she got up and left her post to answer the call. “I’ll talk to you later, Luna,” he said cordially, but was still unable to ignore her haggard appearance. “I appreciate you coming in today.”

She smiled weakly went over to see what Louise wanted and when she returned, she wordlessly opened her window.  
  
---  
  
At about the same time, Paul and Scott were leaving their campsite and were walking slowly towards the town of Rockford, Maine. Paul was still somewhat worried about his son. Instead of behaving in a depressed or unhappy manner, the boy had become more contemplative.

As a result, Paul found the silence to be somewhat unnerving, but instead of trying to engage the teenager in dialogue, the alien concluded that when Scott was ready to discuss the situation, he would. Right now, all he could do was give his son the space he needed and hope that the silence would not be long lasting.

Paul’s attention was shifted when they came into town and he began to take in the various stores and shops that lined the marketplace. Along one side was a grocery store, and next to it was a three storey building with a post office inside. Paul had been planning to stop off at the post office to pick up a letter and check from their friend Liz Baynes. She was a reporter in Chicago who had been helping them since Paul’s return some two years before. Instead of speaking, he merely nudged his son. When Scott raised his head, the teenager nodded and they started to walk towards the post office.

At that moment, Paul stopped and closed his eyes as an outer worldly feeling came over him. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed that Scott was still walking in the direction of the building. 

When the teenager realized that his father was no longer walking beside him, the boy stopped and turned around. Paul was practically rooted to the ground, his expression indicative that he was deep in contemplation.

Scott turned about and walked back over to him. “Dad?” he whispered trying to break Paul from out of the obvious trance he was in.

“I have to go in there alone,” Paul said softly.

“Why?” Scott asked, but when Paul did not respond to his simple question, the boy began to wave his hands in front of his father’s face. “What’s going on? Why do you look as though you’ve seen a ghost?”

When Paul did not react, Scott became somewhat agitated, his expression shifting as fear literally engulfed him. When Paul offered no answer, Scott’s voice began to tremble as he spoke. “Dad, tell me what's wrong, I’m scared.”

Hearing the fear in his son’s voice broke Paul’s concentration, and he glanced over at the building and then back at his son. “Scott, I think I’ve picked up a signal from over there. Someone in the post office has a sphere.”

“There’s no way!” Scott said, his eyes widening. He looked at his father half expecting him to arch his eyebrows or smirk, but he did neither. In fact, all the indicators that implied the alien attempting to joke with him were not present at all. Instead, an earnest expression on his father's face remained. Eventually, the teenager found his voice and spoke. “Are you sure?”

Paul nodded.

“But, I thought you were the only one of your kind here,” Scott objected.

“Yes, I know, and so did I,” Paul said, “but I can somehow sense the presence of another sphere. If you close your eyes and concentrate, you might be able to pick up on the signal as well.”

Scott did as he was told and after some moments passed, he felt a chill go down his spine that he could not explain away. Seconds later, he could feel the same odd sensation that his father had described. This left him feeling ill at ease. “Why didn’t you sense it before?” he asked after he opened his eyes.

“I don’t know, my guess is I can only sense it if someone has it with them or is holding it,” Paul responded as he tried to formulate his thoughts into words. “I could sense you before I came back here, but before you had the sphere, our connection was partially broken. The sphere is not only the source of power or abilities, but it also acts as a liaison between us, and if someone else has one with them, it somehow links us to them as well.”

“But if you were able to answer my call from across the galaxy, couldn’t you have sensed the presence of another sphere?” Scott asked. “I mean; it does kinda act as a homing device, right?”

“Yes.”

“So if you were to use your sphere, it would home in on another one regardless of where it is, right?” Scott asked, and Paul nodded. “So why didn’t you try it before?”

“I don’t know, maybe I was too preoccupied to contemplate the idea that there were signals coming from someplace else,” Paul offered. “I can’t think of everything, you know.”

“Okay, so what are we going to do?”

“I’m going to find out where the signal is coming from,” Paul affirmed.

“You are going to go by yourself,” Scott mused, “well, that makes me feel a bit nervous.”

“Don’t be, it is after all half of what you are. If there is another of my kind in there, then they would pick up on our presence just as we picked up on theirs,” Paul said. “Of course, I think I would feel better if you were to stay out here for the time being.”

“Why can’t I just stay with you?” Scott asked not feeling particularly comfortable with the notion of staying outside alone while his father went inside by himself. He could not help but feel protective of his innocent alien father.

“Don’t worry everything will be okay,” Paul said calmly. “The reason I would feel better about you being outside is that I don’t know who might be in there. If both of us go inside, then they might perceive us to be a threat and then we wouldn’t find out anything.”

“You mean, whoever is in there might not know that the sphere they’re carrying is special?”

“It’s possible, since that was what happened with you,” Paul said. “Now, please, don’t touch or use the sphere until I come back, okay?”

Reluctantly, Scott nodded and watched as his father walked slowly towards the crosswalk, waited a few moments for the light to change, and then crossed the street. His steps were slow and deliberate as he made his way over to the post office.

As he walked, Paul stuck his hand in the pocket of his jeans before opening the door and calmly walking inside. The sensations that he had had out on the street were nothing in comparison to what he was sensing when he came inside this small town post office. A quick glance towards the clock indicated that it was close to the noon hour and only one of the service windows was open.

Approaching the window, he raised his head to see that on the other side of the window, a young woman sat. From the first impression alone, Paul could tell that she looked tired, but instead of remarking on this, he smiled gently as she raised her head and looked up at him.

“May I help you?” she asked as he concentrated on her nametag. It read that her name was Luna Smith.

“Uh, yes,” Paul managed to say before he proceeded to ask her about the check.

She stood up and walked slowly over to a drawer and began digging around in it.

As he watched her rummaging through the drawer, he realized that now he had become more interested in her than he was in the check that would see him and Scott through another month. The woman had to be the person who possessed the sphere, but before he could say anything about it, he raised his head and noticed that she had found what she was looking for, turned around, and was making her way back over to him.

Once she had seated herself in the chair, she extended the envelope to him. When he reached out to accept the object, he intentionally brushed his hand against hers.

What he did not expect was for the young woman to raise one of her hands to her forehead and grasp it as though in terrible pain. The energy that resulted from his touch, instead of being incased in familiarity caused her to begin moaning loudly. It was as though she was now in unspeakable pain and she grasped the arms of her chair and held on until her knuckles had started to turn white.

Paul sighed deeply as he came to the realization that everything that had just happened did because of him. As he overcame his initial surprised, he watched in horror as the young woman slid from the chair and landed on the ground in a heap.

For several seconds, he stood there transfixed until he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up and saw a security guard standing next to him. “The post office is now closed,” the man said, “but don’t worry, the manager will take care of her.”

“I didn’t do anything to her,” Paul stammered.

“I know,” he said smiling reassuringly at him. “Luna is really overburdened these days is all, but I’m sure she’ll be all right.”

With that, Paul could feel himself being gently nudged towards the exits. Not having any choice, he allowed the security guard to lead him towards the door.  
  
---  
  
Meanwhile, the manager was inside trying to attend to Luna.

“I told you, you should have let Tammy handle her responsibilities. You had no business coming in today, you foolish girl,” he said as he rested his hand against her cheek and could feel her breath against his hand. He had decided from the start that he would not leave her side until she was getting the help she needed. As luck would have, the security guard had returned inside and was in the process of calling an ambulance.

Instead of speaking to the young woman, he ran his hand gently against her face all the while wondering what had happened to make her pass out like this. As he continued to sit with her head resting on his lap, he tried to recall the last customer she had waited on. The man was a stranger in their town. For the most part the man looked pretty harmless, his manner calm and unassuming.

The man had been staring as she left the counter and went to check inside the ‘special delivery’ bin before returning to the window.

Frank took a deep breath as he looked down at Luna’s gaunt face. _Did she know him, or was he trying to make a play for her? Is this what happens when I don’t tell her what I am thinking or feeling?_

By this time, the manager was tempted to lean over and kiss her, but instead his professionalism won out when he remembered where he was. This always prevented him from following through with his intentions. How he wished that he could show this girl that his feelings were real and not pretend.

Instead, he merely ran his hand gently across her cheek and waited patiently for the ambulance to arrive.  
  
---  
  
Back outside, Paul had rejoined Scott and the teenager seemed increasingly anxious to find out what had happened and if there was something going on that paralleled his father’s assertions. “So what happened?” the teenager asked, his voice almost demanding the news.

“There’s a woman in there with a sphere, Scott. Her name is Luna and she works there. My guess is that she’s about 20-years-old.”

“So what happened?”

“When she reached across the counter to give me the check, I touched her hand and her face became very white, and she fainted. The guard said that the manager was going to take care of her and that I shouldn’t worry, but I am,” Paul said softly. “I must have frightened her after I showed up in there. And it’s obvious that she really doesn’t know about the sphere or its origins.”

“I don’t get it,” Scott said. “Why would she faint?”

“She’s linked to my world, Scott, and from the way it looks, she doesn’t really know it yet,” Paul said softly. “Somehow she has been denied the sort of wisdom that you haven’t. She’s picking up on the energy, but doesn’t know what it is or why she can sense it. It’s confusing her and causing her to react to it in fear or anxiety rather than conscientiously accepting it as a fact of life.”

“You mean in pain English, the entire deal is making her a basket case and she’s not sure how to deal with it,” Scott said.

“Yes, she needs someone to guide her in discovering the hidden truths of the person that she is,” Paul said softly. “I suppose that is what led us here. She cannot go on for much longer without the knowledge of who she is or where she’s from. I think we need to find out which hospital she’s being taken to.”

“You’re really concerned for her, aren’t you?” Scott asked.

“It’s not just that, I feel responsible for her,” Paul said simply.

“But, you don’t even know her,” Scott objected.

“You’re right, I don’t, but she has a sphere, and is connected to my world. I don’t really know how to explain it, but in my world, there is a sort of connection of all people, and that’s enough,” Paul said and tried to put his thoughts into words. “When our fingers touched, I felt the same energy that I feel whenever we hug, and this energy is purely distinctive to my people, so either she is one of my people, which I don’t believe because she would have known about it, or...”

“…She’s like me, and part of her is,” Scott whispered.

Paul nodded, and glanced up to see a talk dark headed man coming outside at the same moment an ambulance had pulled up in front of the building. They disappeared inside, and moments later, the paramedics were bringing Luna outside on a stretcher.

Instead of responding to his son verbally, he slowly walked back over towards the door of the post office. When he reached it, he spoke to the same dark headed man he had seen, “Excuse me, but can you tell me if she’s going to be all right?”

The man glanced up and nodded unconvincingly. “I think so; she’s just a bit overworked. They’re taking her to the hospital and will run some tests and to see if she’s okay.”

“Thank you,” Paul offered, “Is there only one hospital here in town?”

“Yes it’s called County Heights,” the man responded. “Why do you ask? Are you a friend of hers?”

“Actually, no, but she had waited on me when I was inside a few minutes ago, and right before I left, she passed out. Would it not be right of me to wonder how she is doing?” Paul asked.

“Of course it’s right,” he said. “I’m just a little bit protective of her. The deal is, she’s pretty much on her own here, and when I say ‘on her own’ I do mean on her own. She’s got no family to speak of and not too many friends, either.”

“She has no family?” Paul asked, but after some moments had passed his next words emerged. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s because you seem concerned for her. That’s a rarity around here,” he said openly. “Luna came into town about two years ago, and has pretty much been alone for much of that time. I met her just after she started working at the post office, but outside of work, she seems to be alone much of the time,” he said. As he was speaking, Paul could sense that this man really cared for her, but didn't seem willing to admit it. Instead of elaborating on Luna’s situation, he continued speaking. “By the way, my name is Frank.”

“I’m Paul and this is my son, Scott.”

By this time, the ambulance was leaving the building and Paul nodded towards his son. They needed to get to the hospital and then they would be leaving town.

Frank, noticing that they were carrying their stuff, looked at them. “You guys need a lift? I can get you to the hospital, that is, if you don’t have anything else going on.”

Paul nodded and they followed the man to his car and got in. Once he drove to the hospital, and parked, they all got out of the car and walked towards the doors leading inside. The hospital was relatively full of people perhaps because it was Saturday afternoon and most of them had come to visit friends or family.

“I don’t like hospitals,” Scott grumbled. “It always reminds me of when you were sick.”

Paul placed a reassuring hand on his son’s shoulder, “I know,” was all he said, but what he felt beneath his touch was the boy’s shoulder had shuddered somewhat.

Seconds later they entered the waiting room and Paul and Scott sat down while Frank went to the nurse’s station to see if he could find out what room they had taken Luna to. After some time, he returned. “They said that they are in the process of getting her admitted and brought to a room, but they will let me know when she is ready to receive guests.”

Paul and Scott nodded as Frank sat down in a chair nearby and the three of them settled in to wait.  
  
---  
  
After about an hour had passed, the hospital attendants paged Frank and he returned with a slip of paper that read what room Luna was in. The nurse informed him that the doctor had given strict instructions about refraining from upsetting Luna. When he returned to Paul and Scott, he told them the news.

“The doctor said that he had no problem releasing her into our care, but with the strict instruction that Luna would be given two week’s paid sick leave,” he said. “It’s a good thing I’m her boss, I was able to agree to these terms immediately. Of course, they did say that she was still not awake, so we would have to wait for her to wake up.”

Paul and Scott were relieved upon hearing this news and they followed Frank to the elevator and up to Luna’s room.

Upon reaching the door to the room; Paul, Scott, and Frank slowly entered. When Paul saw her, he could not help but notice how frail and helpless she looked in the large hospital bed. Her eyes were closed and she was fast asleep. He approached the bed and when he reached down and felt her hand, he realized how desperately she needed the rest. “She’s really overworked, Frank,” Paul whispered. He could tell instinctively that Frank was worried and for good reason.

“I know,” Frank eventually replied. Moments later, he watched as Paul backed slowly away from the bed and took this as his incentive to approach where the young woman lay. When he reached the edge of the bed, he rested his hand on her shoulder.

At that moment, she began to stir and moments later she slowly opened her eyes. “Luna,” he whispered, “how are you feeling?”

“What happened?” she whispered as she licked her dry lips and looked up at him. “Where am I?”

“County Heights Hospital,” Frank answered, “you fainted at work.”

She shook her head as she tried desperately to remember what had happened back at the post office. “The last thing I remember was a man at the counter. He wanted a check, and then after I gave it to him, everything went black, and I woke up here.”

“Yes, well that guy, he was sort of worried about you, and so he came here with me. His son’s also here,” Frank offered as Paul and Scott came closer to the bed.

Luna looked around the room, and when her gaze came to rest on Paul she smiled weakly, “thank you.”

Paul nodded unsure of what he should say or do next. After what had transpired back at the post office, the alien was afraid of what might happen if he tried to initiate contact with her. He remembered how she had fainted upon touching his hand, so he could already sense that she was different than most humans. Half of her, or at the very least, a quarter of her was like him, and she seemed to be completely unaware of it.

Luna remained stationary in her bed, her head lowering shyly. “Here I thought it was Tammy’s sister who was dealing with hospitals, and now I’m stuck in one.” She looked at Frank. “I hope I wasn’t too much trouble for you.”

“Not at all,” Frank offered with a smile. “I usually do try and look out for my employees.”

“I really appreciate it,” she whispered, and looked down at her lap.

“Yes, well,” he muttered and by this time, his face flushed slightly and he grinned impishly. “Oh well, I guess I’d better get going, today’s my kid sister’s birthday, and I don’t want to be late getting to the party.” He turned to Paul, not noticing Luna’s sad expression when he said he had to leave. “Can I drop you guys off somewhere, or do you want to stick around?”

“No,” Paul answered, “we’ll visit for a few more minutes and then leave.”

Frank nodded, “okay, and Luna, you’re on two weeks sick leave, so that means you cannot come to the post office unless you intend to mail a letter, understood?”

She nodded sadly as her boss took his leave. How could she tell him that going to the post office gave her a chance to be around people? Now she was stuck at home alone for two weeks, and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to handle it being alone. Her thoughts were interrupted when Paul came over and sat down in the chair beside her bed.

“Why are you sad?” he asked once Frank was gone.

Luna shrugged her shoulders but kept her gaze on her lap.

“I can only hope I wasn’t responsible for what happened to you today,” he offered. “I meant no harm.”

She shook her head, “no, it wasn’t you, I was just tired.”

Paul nodded as though he understood, but instead of speaking of that, he decided to try a different approach. “Do I frighten you?” He asked after several moments of silence had passed between them.

She nodded weakly, “I think you do, but there’s also something familiar about you. It’s as though I've known you for a long time, even if we’ve never met. I guess that sounds a bit dumb, doesn’t it?”

“No,” Paul said softly, “I would never hurt you; I think you know that you have nothing to be afraid of.”

“I don’t know if I'm afraid or just kinda out of it,” she answered honestly. “The last thing I remember was when my hand brushed against yours at the post office, and how I felt something strange. It was as though you were reminding me of something that happened in the past, but I don't know what.”

“Does the past frighten you?” Paul asked.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “I just know that what I felt was different, odd, and eerie all at the same time.”

Scott looked at his father and then back at the young woman on the bed. He could tell that his father was trying desperately to convey his thoughts to her as gently as he possibly could. This is the same person that Paul said had a sphere, and now Scott could sense it as well. This was one weird situation, but also an extremely intense one. He continued to watch his father as he collected his thoughts.

Within seconds, before Paul could speak again, the door swung open and a middle-aged man in a lab coat walked into the room, “Miss Smith?” he spoke her name and she nodded. “I’m Dr. Weston. I’ve been looking over your case, and it looks like you're well enough to be discharged.” He laid his clipboard down on the small hospital table and smiled at her reassuringly. “Do you have someone who can take you home?”

“My boss was here, but he had to go,” she said.

“We can take you home,” Paul offered.

“Then that’s settled,” Luna said bravely, but after several moments she took a deep breath and looked at the doctor. “What exactly happened to me?”

“I’d wager a guess that it was your unhealthy combination of little or no sleep and stressful work. While you were unconscious, we took some blood and ran all the normal tests, and you're fine.” The doctor smiled at her as he reached for the clipboard. “I’ll leave you in the care of your friends, but I’m attaching a warning to your discharge, don't overdo it for at least two weeks, no work, eat lots of vegetables and fruits, and get your strength back. Your boss has already agreed to put you on sick leave, so you have no reason to go anywhere.”

Luna nodded reluctantly as the doctor affixed his signatures to the paperwork and left the room. Once he was gone, she looked at Paul; mistrust in her eyes. “What do you want with me? I mean it’s nice that you want to come see me and all. Just tell me why you are so insistent about helping me when it’s really not any of your business?”

“I don’t mean to intrude,” Paul offered. “I just need to talk to you about something, and here is not the right place. Would you be willing to listen to what I have to tell you, it’s important?”

“Why would the words of a stranger be important?” she asked nervously.

Paul looked at her, then at his son, and then back to her. He pulled the sphere out of his pocket and opened his palm so she could see it resting in his hand. “It’s about this,” he whispered.

“How did you get my keepsake?” she demanded as she sat up in the bed.

“No,” Paul answered with a slight shake of his head. “This one belongs to me.” He glanced towards his son as he returned the sphere to his pocket and nodded towards his son, who grabbed the folded clothing off the dresser and handed them to his father, who pushed them into her arms. “Please, go and get dressed, we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Luna, although afraid, snatched the clothing from Paul and went into the bathroom to comply with his request. While inside the small cramped bathroom, she rested her hand against the pocket of her pants to see if her keepsake was still there, it was. After getting dressed, she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and emerged from the bathroom several moments later.

She allowed Paul and Scott to lead her from the room and down the hallway to the elevator. Once outside they reached a waiting cab and climbed in. About ten minutes later, Paul paid the faire and they climbed out and approached the stairwell of Luna’s apartment building.

Up the stairs and inside the small two bedroom apartment, Luna went over to a chair and sat down before looking across the room at them. “Now, please be kind enough to tell me what it is you want.”

Paul looked deeply into her eyes. “We want to help you, Luna and I need to ask you an important question. Do you always carry an object around like the one I showed you at the hospital?”

She pulled the sphere out of her pocket and showed it to him. “Normally, I don’t, it’s just that I took it with me today. I usually keep it with my minerals.” She looked at the earnest faces of Paul and Scott as a cold shiver went up her spine. “Does this thing have anything to do with me fainting at the post office?” she finally asked.

“Maybe,” Paul answered. “Do you remember what you said to me back at the hospital about how I made you feel something familiar but not knowing why?”

She nodded, “yes, but my thoughts were about someone I’ve never seen and don’t even know. But, you can’t be the person I was thinking of. You can’t be my father, can you?”

Paul shook his head, “no.”

Luna nodded, but after a few seconds, she spoke again, “I grew up wondering more about my father than about my mother. I used to cry because my friends all had close relations with their fathers and I was alone.”

“Where is your mother?” Paul asked gently.

“I guess she's dead. I grew up bopping from one foster home to another,” Luna said softly as Paul noticed a stray tear sliding down her cheek. “Now, I’m 20 years old and should be okay, but I’m not. I have so many questions and no answers about my past.”

“I’m sorry that my asking so many questions have cause you pain,” Paul said softly. “I need to ask you only one more question, and then if you want us to go, we will.”

“What?” she asked once she had gotten control of her emotions.

“Where and how did you get one of these?” he asked holding up his sphere.

“When my mother left me in the care of foster parents, the small marble was with me. My foster parents said that I was a strange child, when they would take it away, I’d scream and cry. They thought at one point that I would swallow it, but I never did. When I started school, I carried it with me everyday, until just after my eleventh birthday.”

“What happened then?” Scott asked.

“I started to feel something strange, emotional stuff, and stopped playing with it because I became afraid of it. Okay, I know this sounds kind of stupid, but this thing wasn’t like a rock or mineral, it was something else, and I didn’t know how to deal with the effect it was having on me,” she paused.

“Can you describe those feelings?” Paul asked softly.

“Not really, it was just a different sort of feeling. I haven’t had any sort of senses about it since then, well not until today. Does that make any sense?” she asked.

Paul nodded as though he completely understood what she had been saying. He extended his hand towards her. “Take my hand and we’ll see if you are able to sense the same things you felt when you were a child. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”

She nodded and extended her hand towards him, but Paul could see that she was now extremely pale, as though she was going to faint again.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered softly as he reached his own hand out towards her and cupped her hand gently in his own. After initially making physical contact with her, he could see that she was starting to go into a sort of a trance. “Luna, stay with me now,” he said, all the while trying to break her out of the trance. When she did not answer, he released her hand. “It’s alright.”

“I feel so strange,” she whispered, “I don't know what’s wrong with me.” She looked at the man sitting across from her, “Paul,” she began to cry, her fears somehow beginning to overwhelm what was happening to her. “What’s wrong with me?”

“There is nothing wrong with you, Luna Smith,” Paul said gently and placed one of his hands onto her shoulder. “You have grown up without knowing or understanding your heritage.”

“Heritage, what do you mean, I don’t understand?” she asked as her attention shifted and she was soon looking at Scott. “What does he mean?”

“Just listen to him,” was all Scott could say as he moved closer to where his father was sitting.

“What I’m trying to say is that you are like my son, and you have a birthright which you apparently don’t know anything about.” Scott's ears perked up when he heard his father’s words.

“Then I’m not the only one?” Scott asked.

“No, you are not,” Paul affirmed.

“The only one what?” she asked.

“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Paul began, “but you shouldn’t have any fear about it. This is something that has always been a part of you, and it’s what led me to you.”

“The marble?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered, “but that is only a part of it.”

“But, it has always been a toy to me. I mean, as a child, I played with it, but never really thought too much about it,” she said.

“Did you ever wonder where it came from?” Scott asked as he remembered the night just before the accident took his foster parents away.

“I guess so, but I always thought that it was some sort of subconscious fantasy I had as I was growing up. Like hoping a prince would ride up on a dashing steed and save me from moving around all the time by giving me a home. You know what I mean, things that never really happened. Now, I am being told that this marble is a part of a birthright and I can’t imagine having something like that when I never even had a family. I never knew who my father is, or was,” she said, and looked at the ground her eyes beginning to mist over. “I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

“But, you do know who you are, Luna, it is deep down inside of you,” Paul offered, “Sometimes it is difficult to see it because of how long you have hidden it away,” he paused and scratched his head before continuing. “If Scott had done the same thing, he’d have not fully realized what his true potential was and would have eventually encountered the same things you now have.”

“Yes, but Scott’s lucky, he has you here to guide him. My father isn’t here at all, and my mother…” her voice trailed and she swallowed.

“Do you want me to help you learn about this?” Paul asked.

“I don’t know,” her frightened answer emerged.

“You have no reason to be afraid, Luna,” Paul said gently. “I want to help you, but in doing so, I will be exposing who I am and who my son is.”

“It sounds like you’re saying you are like my father,” she said.

“I am.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“Yes,” Paul said with a nod of his head.

“Where is he?”

“He is home, Luna,” Paul answered, “among the stars.”

“Is this another way of saying that he’s dead?” she asked.

“No, he is very much alive, he’s just not here,” Paul answered wondering if she would understand what he was gently trying to convey to her.

“Are you saying that my father is an alien?” she asked and gripped tightly to the edges of the blanket that she had wrapped around herself.

Paul nodded simply as Scott came over to where she was sitting, sat down next to her and smiled, “you’re like me.”

Paul nodded. “Her father is from the same place I am.”

Luna took the sphere from her pocket and held it tightly in her hand. After some moments passed, she looked down at it. She never imagined that she’d actually believe this, but somehow, looking at the man seated across from her, she somehow believed his every word.

He looked back at her. “I know this sounds hard for you to understand, Luna, but it is the truth.”

“I don’t doubt your words, but this sounds like something out of a Science Fiction novel. I mean; if my father is still alive, why doesn't he come to me?” she asked, her voice etched with fear. Although she was frightened by what she had heard, so much about her experiences made sense. She was left to wonder if she would now be able to send a message to him.

Paul looked at her and rested his hand on her shoulder. “You can contact him anytime you wish; all you have to do is use the sphere and concentrate. My son used it to contact me, and you can use it to contact him.”

“But, what would I say if he answers?”

“You’ll know, the questions you have are deep inside of you, and they will come to you when you need them,” Paul said gently.

“Will you help me?” she asked softly not sure she really wanted to even try, but knowing that someone like her father was there, gave her an uncommon sense of comfort.

“If you want us to stay and help you, Luna, then we will,” Paul said gently.

“Do you think he’ll come?” she asked, her voice sounding very much like that of a small child rather than the grown woman she had become.

“I don’t know, maybe we should try to contact him and ask,” Paul took his sphere from his pocket. “Now, you will need to hold your sphere and look at it. Whatever it does, you must not drop it. I know this will frighten you, but nothing it will do will bring harm to you. The light is a part of you,” Paul said gently as he watched her pull the object from her pocket and stare down at it. Self-consciously, she curled her fingers around it and held it tightly in her fist. “No, you must be able to see it, uncurl your fingers.” As she did, he continued, “that’s it; now hold it like this so you can see it.” Paul took the sphere from his pocket and held it in the palm of his hand. He smiled once she imitated his actions. “Now, concentrate on what you want it to do. That is, you want it to send a message to your father, so direct it with your mind to send him a message.”

Luna nodded and began to concentrate on the object she held. She allowed her mind to completely focus on it, and after some moments, her mind cried out desperately, _Father, where are you?_ The tears began to stream down her face as she tensed every muscle in her body in a subconscious effort to call to the father she had never known.

“Don’t try so hard, Luna, just let the thoughts flow, as though you’re relaxed,” Paul’s voice could be heard over the sphere she held. As it began emitting light, her initial reaction was to throw the offending object across the room, but instead she kept it resting in the palm of her hand and did nothing.

After some seconds, as she sat bathed in light, she allowed her mind to relax and her thoughts centered on a message she wanted to send to her father. As she became a part of the light, she realized after some time that she had managed to actually send the message. As soon as that was done, the light from her sphere began to fade, and she could see that Paul started to concentrate on his, and appeared to be sending messages of his own.

Moments later, the light from his began to fade and he looked at her. “I spoke to your father,” he said softly.

“You did?” she asked and looked at him unsure of what to say next.

“Yes, and I asked him to come, but he has refused,” Paul said remorsefully. “He has requested that I remain with you, and act as your teacher.”

She looked down at her lap, and after a few seconds, he could see the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. “Twenty years, what’s a few more?" She stood up and fished the object from her pocket, this she extended to Paul.

“I cannot take that, Luna, it belongs to you,” he said gently.

“Please, take it,” she whispered. “I can’t bear to even look at it.” The object fell from her fingertips and rolled over by Scott's feet. The teenager picked it up and walked over to her.

“Don’t be so quick to get rid of it,” he said as he fingered the sphere. “This is your birthright, and regardless of whether or not your father wants to acknowledge or accept it, you are entitled to whatever goes with it.” He extended it back towards her and after a few seconds, she hesitantly took it.

Luna looked at the two people who were standing in her apartment. “It hurts to know that he won’t come to me and that’s nothing more than a reminder of his rejection. I can’t continue having it in my life knowing all the while that he did not love me enough to come see me and explain.” She sniffed loudly as she continued speaking. “He could have come at anytime during the last twenty years, but he never did. I don’t understand why he didn’t want to see me. Am I really such a grotesque creature that he wouldn’t want to see me?”

“Why don’t you convey that to him?” Paul asked gently.

“I didn’t know how,” she said softly.

“You pleaded with him to come to you, but you didn’t tell him of your needs,” Paul began.

“Dad, wait a minute. When I called seeking your help, you came, but you didn’t know how I felt or that I was angry and hurt,” Scott said. “I rejected you, and if it weren't for Mom’s tape which explained everything, I’d probably be locked away in a lab somewhere, not knowing or understanding why I was there.”

Paul nodded feeling sad about what Scott had said, but at the same time, he acknowledged it as being the truth.

“If I told my father how I really felt, then I would have to deal with his rejection or his pity. I can’t think of what would be worse in this regard. If he were to show up now, knowing how I have been feeling for most of my life, then I could only assume that he came out of pity and not out of love.”

“You don’t believe your father loves you?” Scott asked.

“No, after all this, I don’t,” she answered sadly. “If he did, then he would have come back long before now. He wouldn’t have told your dad that he wouldn’t come. Now, I feel rejected every time I hold that thing in my hand.”

She began to weep softly as the sphere rolled out of her hand, and onto the floor. It landed near the front leg of the sofa and stayed there. She didn’t care anymore about it; instead, she pulled a packet of tissues from her pocket and removed one of them. After blowing her nose, she looked up at them. “Please go,” she said hoarsely.

Paul nodded and stood up, Scott followed suit. Before leaving, however, Paul crouched down in front of her and rested his hands on her trembling shoulders. “I’m sorry, Luna,” he said softly. “If I’d had known, I wouldn’t have pushed the issue with you.”

“Just go,” her voice was filled with pain. Paul knew there was nothing he could do. He reached the door and grabbed his camera bag and one of the duffel bags. Scott grabbed the other and the two of them left.

Once they were gone, she picked up the sphere, placed it on the coffee table, lay down on the sofa, closed her eyes, and cried herself to sleep.  
  
---  
  
Paul and Scott made their way away from the town the following morning. Scott had been contemplating the situation with Luna all evening, but the one thing he could not get over was the overwhelming guilt that his father now carried. “Dad, it’s not your fault,” he said for the umpteenth time.

“I should have known that she would react in a very human way. One couldn’t have expected less from someone who had lived the last twenty years hoping to see their father. That hope is now gone and it is my fault,” “If I hadn’t have pushed the issue with her, she would still be living with that hope.”

“Yeah okay, but that would be a false sense of hope. It’s sort of like hoping for something that never happens,” Scott said softly. “If you hadn’t have leveled with her about this, then she would go on believing in these fantasies and never knowing what she is capable of doing.”

“Yes, but some fantasies are good,” Paul said softly.

“Some, but the unrealistic expectations she has of a father from out there somewhere?” Scott asked.

“Maybe you’re right, but all the same, I can’t help but feel badly about it,” Paul said.

“What exactly did he tell you?” Scott asked.

“He said that he didn’t want to leave his home,” Paul hedged.

“Dad, I know you too well and your slick act ain’t working. I think you just don’t want to hurt me with the truth, that maybe I would find the response offensive.” Scott said, his direct words taking his father aback.

Instead of immediately responding, Paul looked down at the ground. After several seconds of silence had passed, he nodded. “I’d rather not repeat what his exact words were, but he did make his point abundantly clear.”

“Just tell me what he said, maybe I can help,” Scott said. “Besides, of all the people here, I think I have more in common and a better understanding to Luna than even you do, so out with it.”

Paul nodded, “okay, he told me that he thinks I’m a fool for wanting to come back to this hostile world. He said that though he loves his daughter, he’s ashamed of the part of her that’s human.”

“I always thought the human race was alone with silly prejudices,” Scott mused. When Paul shrugged his shoulders, Scott continued. “Poor Luna, we’ve got to help her, Dad. I don’t much care if her father gets mad at us for doing it; he’s being nothing but a selfish jerk.”

“But, you heard her, she wanted us to go,” Paul answered. “I think I remind her too much of her father.”

“Maybe you do, but you do remember how she was to us, don’t you? She didn’t freak out about it and I think she has accepted the fact that she’s different. If we just take off, she’ll never have a chance to fully understand what happened yesterday,” Scott said softly. “It’s taken me two years to learn from you, and I’m still learning, but this is a twenty-year-old woman who has not only learned that part of her is alien, but at the same time, she is grieving the loss of her father. If we take off now, then she’ll be left to feel rejected by us as well as by him.”

“I know what you’re saying and I’ve been thinking about that since we left her apartment yesterday,” Paul whispered.

“And what did you conclude?”

“I just don’t want to hurt her any more than she’s already been hurt,” Paul admitted.

“Well if you were like her father, then I would have become jaded about your world like she is. The fact is, you’re not, and maybe right now you have to show her that you’re not like that and show her why I’m glad you’re my dad.”

Paul smiled, “thank you.”

The teenager shrugged his shoulders and grinned. “It’s true, and you know that Luna does need some guidance, and right now, you’re the only one who can give it,”

“You really think we should go back?”

“Yeah, I do. I mean; she and I are a lot alike, and it makes me feel better knowing that I’m not alone.”

“You mean less isolated?” Paul asked.

“Yes, it’s kind of like finding out I have a big sister. I know it sounds weird, but I do relate to her.” As he spoke, Scott started walking slowly back in the direction of the small town.

“All right, we’ll go back, but you do realize she may not want to see us,” Paul said.

“Maybe she won’t, but we can’t abandon her now. She may not believe it, but she needs us, and eventually she’s going to realize it.”

Paul smiled proudly at his son as they made their way back in the direction of town. He could not help but contemplate how grown up Scott had become. He remembered how things had been a year ago, and how his son had felt a sense of family with Stella Forrester. Maybe in all of this, he was also feeling that same sense of family with Luna. Whatever the case, he realized that there was a great deal of wisdom in the teenager’s words.

As they made their way, Paul glanced over towards his son. After several moments, he suddenly stopped, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his sphere.

Glancing down at the object, he realized that it was now glowing. Once the light had faded, he sighed deeply. It was then that he noticed that Scott had stopped walking and was staring at him curiously. “We’ve got to hurry, Luna's calling us back,” he said urgently.

Scott nodded all the while not fully understanding or comprehending what had just happened. At that moment the teenager was too surprised to even utter a sound. Instead of speaking to his father about what had just happened, the two of them broke into a run and raced back to the nearest bus stop. Reaching it, they waited until the bun came and the boarded it when it pulled up to the curb.  
  
---  
  
At the same time, Frank had arrived at Luna’s front door and knocked. As soon as the door opened, he saw the young woman looking more haggard than she had been when he had gotten her to the hospital the day before. “What happened?” he asked as a greeting, but it was clear that he was concerned.

She shook her head, her attempts to block out the events of the day before failing miserably.

Frank came inside. “Tell me, Luna,” he said as he came over and sat down on the sofa and looked at her intently. “You really look as though you could use a friend.”

She placed the sphere she had been holding onto the coffee table and sat down next to him. Tiredly, she rested her chin in her hands and tried to collect her thoughts before glancing up when she heard his soft voice addressing her.

“You know you can talk to me. I mean, I know I’m supposed to be your boss and all, but I’d like to be your friend,” he said gently and blushed slightly.

She responded with a slight shrug of her shoulders. Finally, unable to stop the tears that had started to stream down her cheeks, she began to cry.

In response to this, Frank pulled out a clean handkerchief and handed it to her. Once she had accepted it, he waited until she had managed to get her emotions under some sort of control. It was obvious to him that something had happened, but he had no idea what would cause this otherwise stoic young woman to have this sort of emotional outburst. He ran his hand through his dark brown hair, and looked at her curiously. “What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know if I can talk about it right now,” she responded sadly.

“You know, my mom used to say that a problem is half as painful when it is shared?” he offered gently.

She sighed deeply, “She’s probably right, but I don’t think I can talk about it without crying. It hurts so much.”

“Then hold onto my handkerchief, and use it when you need it,” he said as he looked at her intently. “Come on, Luna, you know you can talk to me about anything and I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

She raised her head and looked over at him. Somewhere in the recess of her heart she realized that she really did love him. He was kind and caring and this left her to wonder if she could tell him everything.

After some seconds had passed she took a deep breath and spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. Yesterday, I learned who my father was.”

“Wait, I thought you didn’t know your parents,” he said, all the while remembering the first interview he had with her prior to hiring her to go to work for him at the post office.

“I didn’t, but yesterday, I learned about where he is and...” her voice trailed as the tears began to stream down her cheeks.

“…And?” Frank asked as he sat up straighter.

“He doesn’t want to see me,” she whispered.

“Who told you that?”

“Paul,” she whispered.

“And you believed him? Luna, he may have meant well, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s just some drifter that happened by,” Frank objected. “How can you believe someone like that? He could very easily have been trying to string you along.”

She nodded but stared down at the sphere that was still on the coffee table. “He had proof. Everything he said about my father made sense and then he said that to my father I’m not worth it.”

“That’s baloney!” Frank shouted. “How can someone just come along and tell you something like that? It’s just wrong.”

“It may be wrong, but that’s what happened. Paul told me things about my father that proved that he knew him. What other choice did I have but to believe it? My father is not here and no amount of self-talk is going to bring him here.”

He rubbed his chin with one hand and nodded at the truth that was in her words. Eventually, he swallowed and spoke, his simple statement emerging and leaving him to feel monumentally empty. “I’m sorry.” Instead of waiting for her to respond, he glanced across the sofa at the girl he loved and saw tears brimming from beneath her eyes. _She feels alone now, he thought to himself. If only I could take her in my arms and make all her pain go away._

He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. In Luna’s eyes he could see vulnerability, but there was something else lurking there, a sort of strength she had about everything. It had been during that moment when she had passed out at the post office that Frank Giddings realized that he was in love with the young woman he had sat next to and cradled in his arms.

Now, seeing her sitting there and dealing with unspeakable sadness, he dismissed all the reason that had kept his feelings at bay and slid over next to her, wrapped his arms around her, and held her tightly in his embrace.

As soon as she felt his strong arms holding her, she looked up at him with a mixture of shock and relief on her face. She was unsure if what he was doing was appropriate, but amidst her grief, she felt a sense of security in his arms and did not want the embrace to loosen. Instead, she allowed herself to cry and she wrapped her arms around him and held on as though she would never let go. The tears fell from her eyes and landed on his shoulder.

Frank backed away after her crying had grown softer, and she lay practically limp in his arms.

Once she had sat back up, she looked at him. “I know this all sounds insane, but Paul told me that he knew my father and that he had contacted him yesterday trying to see if he would be willing to come and visit me.”

“And the guy said no?”

Luna nodded. “Paul said that he didn’t want to leave home,” she answered.

“What a dead-beat,” Frank said, his voice suddenly sounding bitter. “That guy should be lucky that he has a daughter like you.” He reached towards the telephone, which was sitting on her coffee table. “Do you know the number Paul called?”

Luna sighed deeply, her gaze falling on the sphere, which had rolled over to the telephone and was now resting against it. “I don’t know how to contact him, Frank. Besides, what should I say; that my father is ashamed of me, or that if he came now it would only be out of pity? Maybe he’s right and I’m not worth it.”

Frank shook his head emphatically. “Don’t talk like that. You are worth far more than that dead-beat could ever realize. Do you honestly think that the words of a dead-beat dad should ever carry that much weight? I mean; if he could only see the beautiful, witty, and intelligent woman that I see; then he’d be here in a heartbeat...” his voice trailed awkwardly, and he sighed deeply. “…What I mean is, I’m really sorry that this happened. I wish there was something I could do to help, but I don't know what.”

“You can’t do anything, Frank,” she said softly. “When Paul mentioned all of this yesterday, I thought I would freak out, but I didn’t. I just sat there completely at a loss as to what to say. It was very strange, but suddenly I felt as though I could understand things about myself that I never knew.”

Frank nodded, “so you do believe him?”

“I don’t know why I do, but I do, yes,” she said softly. “It was like those times when I would go to church as a child and how there was just this feeling of acceptance with it. I could never fully comprehend it, but it was there. Does that even make sense?” Luna asked. Before Frank could offer any response, there came a knock at the door.

She looked at him and when he nodded, she got up with the intention of going to answer the door. As she wordlessly opened the door, her eyes widened somewhat when she noticed that Paul and Scott were standing in the doorway.

Frank sighed when he saw them but instead of speaking, he merely stood up and waited as they came into the living room and the door was closed behind them. “Hello,” he said all the while trying to keep his anger at bay.

Paul smiled, “hi Frank.”

Scott nodded.

Instead of getting upset with them, Frank glanced nervously around the room before speaking. “I guess I should go now. Is there anything else I can do for you?” He asked Luna. When she shook her head, he started to make his way over towards the front door.

Luna shook her head, “I think I’ll be okay now. Thanks so much for coming Frank, you’re a good friend and I appreciate your help.”

“Anytime,” he said blushing slightly. “Just don’t overdo anything, Luna. You’re supposed to be on sick leave, remember?”

“You know I hate not being able to come to work, it’s boring to sit around the house and do nothing,” she objected. “I need something to get my mind off of things.”

“Yes, but you are currently under a doctor’s care, and you’re not supposed to work for two weeks,” he said, all the while trying to sound more like her boss than he intended. “I know it’s boring, but you’re going to have to deal with it. Find a hobby or something. I don’t care. I just don’t want to see you around the post office for the next two weeks unless you intend on mailing a letter.” Frank looked deeply into her eyes. “You may not have a family, Luna, but you do have me. I want you to use this time off to get over whatever it is you need to get over. Okay?”

She sighed deeply, but conceded. “You’re the boss.”

Frank nodded upon hearing her response. He could tell that she looked positively miserable, but since he had given his word, he had to abide by the doctor’s wishes. He went over to where Paul was still standing next to the door leading outside. “I don’t know who you are, Mister, but from what I heard, you seem to have the right connections to finding missing people, but regardless of that, if you do or say anything else that is going to upset her then you’ll answer to me. She’s been through so much, as is.”

Rather than reply to Frank’s words, Paul simply rested his hand on the young man’s shoulder before he could take his leave. “I never intended to hurt her. I think you know that,” he said softly.

Upon feeling this, Frank’s resolve faded and he offered a hesitant nod.

Paul continued to speak, his voice barely above a whisper, but soft enough where only Frank could hear his words. “I know how much you care about her and I would never wish to hurt either of you.”

Frank blushed, “Perhaps, but I’m also her boss, and unfortunately, those kinds of things are not appropriate in a work environment.”

Paul nodded as Frank left Luna’s apartment.

Scott made his way to the sofa and sat down while Luna remained standing several feet from the door.

Both of them watched as Paul closed the door and turned around to face her, “I’m sorry if our being here hurts you, but I wanted to come back and tell you that I truly feel badly about what happened yesterday. I wish there was something I could do to change all of this. If you want us to leave, we will, but I don’t think you want that.”

“Why did you come back?” she asked softly.

“You used the sphere and called us,” Paul answered honestly. “We’re here because we had to answer your call.”

“I called you?” she looked from Paul to Scott in disbelief.

“Yes,” Scott answered calmly, “you probably were asleep when you did it, so you weren’t consciously aware that it had happened. That’s what happened when I called my dad the first time.”

“I don’t understand how. Yesterday, I found out some rather strange information about my father, and about this birthright that I never even knew existed. I’m really confused and I don’t know if I can deal with it all right now.”

“You don’t have to,” Paul said gently. “In time, you will learn and know what it is that sets you apart from other people. You’ll learn who you are inside and what abilities you have inherited from your father.”

“But, without his guidance, I’ll never understand what I am,” Luna objected. “How can I develop these abilities that you claim I have if he won’t come and help me? Isn’t that what a father is supposed to do, guide and teach his children? Tell me how I can learn anything without him?”

“I don’t know the answers to all your questions, but I can tell you this, your father does still care, and he has asked me if I would be willing to teach you some of what you should know. I told you this yesterday, but I think you were too upset to really hear my words,” Paul said. “Would you like me to be your teacher?”

“If he’s not coming, then okay,” she relented. “But to be honest, you’re more of what a father should be than he is. You’re here, regardless of the danger it may pose for you.”

“You are aware of the danger my son and I are in, aren’t you?” Paul asked.

“I guess I can kind of sense it. You’re different, and I know how unkind people are to those who aren’t like they are,” she said.

Scott nodded, his simple action acknowledging her words.

She glanced back over to Paul. “You said you knew about my father, but I’m curious, do you know anything about my mother?”

He shook his head. “No I’m sorry, I don’t know anything. It seems as though your father has not relayed that information to us.” He sat down next to her. “All that I know is that you called us and we came back to help. You must know that I never intended you any ill will when I told you the truth about your heritage. I initially believed that you might have known.”

“I guess when it came to receiving any news about where my father was, I did accept everything you said, but now I wish I never asked. ‘Ignorance is bliss’ and all that,” she said softly.

“Yeah, but isn’t it better to know the truth now than to learn about it later?” Scott asked.

“Maybe, but for me it’s much later, Scott. I’m not that little girl with bows and ribbons in her hair, I’m a grown woman, and somehow I wanted to believe that I would one day have a father who loved me, and I find out that he doesn’t.”

“I wouldn’t say that, Luna, he does care, but in his own way. You see, in my world, human emotion is almost unheard of. We’re a logical race, but there’s something missing. In our language there exists no word for ‘love’, ‘caring’ and so on, it’s just different, and your father has learned things differently than I have. I believe it encompasses his experiences here, and what he encountered when he first came. It’s obvious that he did experience love, because of your presence here. Perhaps in the twenty or more years that have passed, he somehow forgot what love is and you’re the one who is supposed to remind him of that,” Paul said softly.

She shrugged her shoulders. “I just can’t see why he would not want to come and that’s what hurts. It’s almost as though he’s ashamed of the human side of me, but it’s something that I can’t change. I am what I am.”

The blunt words of the woman took Paul somewhat aback, but rather than telling her the truth, he opted to finding out how she interpreted it. “Is that really what you think?”

“What else am I supposed to conclude? ‘Shame’ implies a condition and that is not what ‘love’ is. I should not have to measure up to some sort of blind expectation. He’s my father and I shouldn’t have to earn his acceptance. I can’t do that any more than I can play a game without knowing the rules. If that were the case then I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“You can’t change what you are to make your father love you, he either does or he doesn’t,” Scott said.

“That’s what I’m saying, Scott. That’s why I said that you’re lucky, you have a loving father who accepts you,” she said. “I don’t have anyone and in all honesty, I had been holding onto the notion that maybe my father would want me, but he doesn’t and I have to accept that. The truth is, I have lived my entire life hoping to find my father and dreaming that he would one day embrace me as his little girl, but I must now accept that the fairy tale is finished and he doesn’t care.” She looked at the two of them with more resolve than she thought she was even capable of. “I’ll tell you this; I’m going to learn whatever I can about my heritage, because if there’s one thing I do know, father or no father, I deserve it!”

Unable to offer any further response, Paul simply nodded. He knew that now he was now Luna Smith’s teacher, and it was now his task to teach her everything her father was not available to do.  
  
---  
  
Across the galaxy, on a round spherical spacecraft, a being of blue light was deep in contemplation. Ever since his friend had contacted him, he had been watching with great interest the events taking place on Earth. Although, he could not forget the first time he had gone to the blue planet, he was completely drawn to his young half human child. The girl named ‘Luna’ was just beginning to learn all about her heritage. She seemed determined to know what it was about herself that made her different, but as he listened to the anger in her words, he began to consider what the word rejection truly meant.

_Without thinking of the consequences of my actions, I told Paul that I was ashamed of the human side of this child. I can no longer deny that she is my child, and the emotions I felt for her mother and now for her are real and the anger she expresses towards me is quite harsh indeed._

He watched as Paul’s half-human son, Scott, reacted in a similar fashion as his young daughter had. For the past two years, the boy had been learning about the similarities he shares as well as the differences he had with other human children. He remembered watching how Scott had at one time, expressed openly the shame of the part of him that wasn’t human. _Were Scott’s prejudices the same as the shame that I had been feeling about my child not being completely like me?_ He asked himself.

After watching his friend for some time, he reached the conclusion Paul had done something right, whereas he had been wrong. Paul had taken his responsibilities seriously and returned to care for his half-human child.

He watched as his friend taught the boy about his alien heritage, but also observed the boy teaching his father the simple things about being human. Things like language barriers, food, music, sports, and all the other uniqueness of humanity were clarified and made into a means of bonding between father and son. Could he have done the same thing instead of shoving his child away when he had communicated with Paul the day before?

Finally, he watched as his friend made contact with his daughter and watched how Paul demonstrated caring towards her, a practical stranger. Like he had done with his son, Paul was taking the responsibilities, which he should have been accepting himself. _Maybe Paul had been right all along, maybe it is time for me to accept everything that comes with being a father to this young woman who is half like me._

He could see the pain Luna had felt when she learned of his refused to leave his home and come to her. He watched as her friend, the human called Frank, came to her and consoled her during those moments when she had been alone. As he watched over them, he realized one thing; and that was that his daughter was hiding herself away because of him. She had expressed a longing to know and understand her family and where she came from and now that her mother was gone, it was up to him to come back into her life and strive to be the father he had failed to be for the last twenty years. It pained him to know that she felt isolated and alone and this was all because of his arrogant pride.

He watched the conversation between his daughter and Scott, when Scott had asked her: ‘You don't believe your father loves you?’ He felt a sense of sadness when she had answered without any sort of hesitation: ‘No, I don’t.’

The more time passed, the more he realized that he was feeling sadder and sadder about what he had subjected his daughter to. She believed that a child needed a parent to guide and teach them, and yet, he had been out of her life for more than twenty years and was willing to add to that number.

_If I go,_ his thoughts continued, _she’ll think I pity her instead of care for her, but I do care for her._ His thoughts returned to when she had kicked Paul and Scott out of her home the day before, and how he had pleaded with her in his mind not to do that, but instead to allow them to help her as he now longed to.

_She had wanted to give Paul and Scott the sphere after Paul had told her what I had relayed to him. Paul must have known that I had left it for her to learn from after I had returned home. She must have been completely devastated, but then she had used her sphere to call him back and seeking his guidance. That made me feel a little bit better, but she still needs to know that she is completely capable of learning about what makes her unique._

Taking one last look at the painful determination on the face of his daughter, the alien from Algeiba knew beyond any doubt, that he would have to swallow his pride, return to Earth, and offer her the guidance she needed. Hostile or not, he was determined to make amends with his daughter.

With that decision firmly in his mind, he decided to take the voyage to the star where his daughter had been born and raised.  
  
---  
  
Three days later, Paul was working with Luna on how to move objects using the sphere. Although, she was tired, she was determined to accomplish the task. She had spent the entire day working with Paul and it had been mentally and emotionally taxing. She figured that after Scott returned from school that she would be able to take a break. Until the teenager would return, she was determined to keep trying.

The task that she now had was to try and levitate a large lamp. After the object had fallen for the second or third time since she started, she lowered her hand and sighed. “I can’t do it,” she said softly as she looked down at the pieces of porcelain that were now scattered across the linoleum floor in the front hallway of her apartment. Discouraged, she kicked a couple of the pieces with the toe of her shoe and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but it’s just not working!”

Paul nodded, it had been a long afternoon, and though she had made some progress, he could feel her beginning to tire from the work. He nodded his head understandably. “Why don’t we take a break then? Scott will be back from school soon and we can get something to eat.”

“But what about the lamp?” she asked.

“It would seem that you’re not quite ready for a break,” he mused. “All right, I have an idea. Why don’t you try and fix it?”

“Fix it, but, how?” she asked.

“Use visualization as a tool,” he suggested. “Concentrate on the picture of what you want the sphere to do. You remember how the lamp looked before you tried levitating it, so try imagining the pieces coming back together.”

“Okay, I’ll try,” she said as she took the sphere out of her right hand, and wiped the hand against the jeans she wore. She then placed the object back in her hand, moved the bracelets up her arm, and began to concentrate on the metal object she held in her hand. As she began to feel the now familiar blue light begin to radiate from her hand, she concentrated on the object she wanted to repair.

She must have been concentrating too hard because she suddenly felt Paul’s hand on her shoulder as her sphere returned to its natural state. “Don’t try too hard, Luna, just let the energy flow. If you put too much concentration into it, you won’t be able to do anything.”

She nodded and began to shake out her arms in an attempt to relax the muscles, and with a sense of determination, she began to concentrate again.

After a little bit of time, she could see the fragments of lamp coming together and she had managed to repair the lamp. When her sphere returned to its normal state, she looked at Paul proudly. “I did it!” she said excitedly, “I never thought I would manage to do it, but I did.”

Paul nodded, “you did that very well, Luna.”

“Did you help me with it, even a little bit?” she asked still not believing that she was capable of succeeding at this on her own.

He shook his head as Scott came through the front door. “You did it all by yourself. How do you feel about that?”

“Honestly?”

“Yes.”

“I feel a little weird about it, but I also know that I could never have gotten this far without you,” she said gratefully.

“I’m glad I could help,” he said gently.

Seconds later, her earnest expression melted away and she grinned sheepishly. “Right now I’m starving. This takes a lot of energy and I suggest that we levitate ourselves into the kitchen and find something to eat.”

Paul smiled, “yes it does take a certain amount of energy.”

Luna nodded but looked at Scott. “What about you, you want something to eat?”

“Always,” Scott answered smiling at her, and the three of them headed into the kitchen.  
  
---  
  
Two weeks later, Luna returned to her job at the post office. She had spent the duration of her sick leave learning to use the sphere, and she was proud at having accomplished as much as she had in the short period of time she had. There was still so much to learn, but as she did, her hunger for knowledge caused her progress to increase.

With Scott around, she had learned about accepting the part of herself that is different, but she also felt as though she had found a younger brother in him. These feelings were all so new, but also special.

She walked into the building that morning, her sphere sitting in the bottom of her pocket, and when she saw Frank standing in the room, she smiled somewhat shyly and approached.  
The moment he saw her, he smiled. “Wow Luna, you look great. How do you feel?”

“Much better, thanks,” she said. “I’ve been really busy. You suggested that I get a hobby, so I did.”

“What kind of hobby?” he asked.

“It’s sort of like magic,” she said as she patted the pocket of her blazer. If only he knew just what kind of magic it was. She walked over to take her post, but there; she turned around and faced him before the security guards unlocked the glass doors. “I just wanted to thank you for everything you did for me. It means a lot.”

He smiled, “that’s what friends are for.”

She nodded. “Only three more days until Christmas, and then things will get back to normal around here. You know it’s sort of funny, but I never really got into the holidays before and now I’m kind of looking forward to them.”

“Do you have any plans?” he asked hoping that her answer would give him an opportunity to pay her a surprise visit.

“Actually, I do, Paul and Scott have been staying with me, and since they’re alone too, we’re going to celebrate together,” she said.

“I figured the two of them had moved on by now,” Frank mused, “but I’m glad you guys have become friends.”

“Yeah, me too,” she said as she went over to the desk where she would work.

As the morning drifted by, Luna found herself staying in rather high spirits. The customers would see her smiling and they would return the gesture. This somehow gave the entire building an exciting feeling that went along with the holidays. At noon, Luna's shift had ended and as she was reaching for her purse, she glanced up and could see a middle aged man walking through the room. She could not understand why, but her gaze began to follow his movements and after watching him drop a letter into the mailbox, he walked slowly out without saying a word. Once he had disappeared, she subconsciously reached into her pocket and her hand felt the metal of the sphere she carried.

She was not certain as to why, but Paul had told her that she should the object with her at all times. Unconsciously, she pulled her hand out of the pocket of her blazer, and reached for her jacket. Once she had it on, she removed her nametag and put it in her purse. That done, she walked towards the exit. As she was leaving, she smiled at Frank who had waved at her from the podium where he was working.

Outside, she stood on the sidewalk in front of the building for some moments. Paul had promised her that once he finished up at his new job, that they could meet for lunch and plan how they were going to spend the afternoon. As she waited, her attention was diverted to the man she had seen earlier inside the post office. He was now standing about three feet away from where she was and appeared to be either lost in thought, unsure of where to go or what to do.

After some moments of standing there, he hesitantly approached where she was standing. “Hello,” he greeted her.

She looked up and smiled warmly, “hi.” 

The man returned her greeting a second time as she turned back to face him. “Are you okay, Mister? You look a little out of it.”

“Out of it?” the man repeated as though he did not fully understand what she was saying.

“I’m sorry, it just means that you look a little pale, like something is wrong,” she said, but repeated her question, “are you okay?”

“Oh, uh, yes, I am okay,” the man responded, his words reminding her a little bit of Paul and the soft and gentle way he always spoke to her.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” she asked. “I mean, I’ve never seen you here before and you do look a little bit lost.”

“No, I’m not from around here,” he said and smiled at her, his soft blue eyes meeting hers as he pushed his graying hair out of his eyes. “My name is Nathaniel Roberts.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Roberts, I’m Luna Smith,” she said, all the while hoping that Paul would show up and rescue her from this somewhat awkward meeting.

“No, please just Nathaniel, but I think,” he said but turned to go. “Good-bye, Luna.”

The breath she had been holding, she calmly released as he started to walk away. Before he rounded the nearby corner and made his way down the street, she spoke again, her voice somewhat hesitant, “good-bye, Nathaniel.” After some moments had passed, she glanced up to see Paul approaching her, the ever-present smile on his face.

“Hi, are you ready to go have lunch?” He asked, but after several moments had passed and her expression was unchanging, he tilted his head slightly. “Is everything okay?”

“Uh, yeah I guess so, but something sort of strange just happened. There was this guy inside the post office this morning. It may not have been anything, but I had this strange feeling about him. It was sort of like what happened when we first met. Anyway, after he came inside, he basically turned around and left. Then just now when I got off my shift, he was outside hanging around.”

“Maybe it was coincidence,” Paul offered.

“No, there was something strange about him,” Luna said. “It’s like I knew him but didn’t know him.”

“What was it about him that made you feel that way?” He asked.

“I don’t know, I just got the feeling that he was intent on finding out something about me,” she paused. “Is it possible for me to be able to sense things about people?”

“Yes, it is actually how we became acquainted, so I do believe you can do that, particularly when you concentrate, or touch someone,” Paul said as they walked down the sidewalk in the direction of a small pizzeria. “Did you touch him or sense something about him?”

“No, I guess I was scared to, but I did sense something, but I can’t explain what it was. It was a sort of strange feeling, as though he knew me, even though I’ve never seen him before,” she said, but quickly dismissed it. “Oh well, I probably won’t ever see him again anyway.”  
  
---  
  
From the opposite side of the street, Nathaniel Roberts was standing and watching as Paul had approached the young woman and they had made their way down the street. He watched them until they entered a small pizzeria. Unable to approach them again, he observed them through the glass from outside, but after some moments of watching, he walked away from the window.

_It would be better for me to approach her when she’s alone,_ he thought to himself. The initial contact was nice, and she seemed to be an unusually caring young woman. As he watched her work in the post office, he could tell that instead of watching his movements, she was watching the man called Frank. Her eyes carried an expression that he had not seen before. He was reminded of an event in his life that had happened some twenty-one years ago the moment he saw the eyes of the young man watching Luna Smith. As he mailed his letter and left the post office, Luna had glanced towards the exit. He had looked back in the direction of where she was working, but could not find the courage to approach her.

_I rejected her,_ he thought to himself, the sadness enveloping him. _I should have come immediately and never turned away from her. Would she ever be able to find it in her heart to forgive me for the pain I put her through?_ He asked himself as he watched her talking and laughing with a long-time friend. _Did his friend tell her what I had said?_ He kept asking himself, _or could any of them sense that I had come back?_

He walked slowly towards the park. It would take a few more days of observations before he would have the courage to make contact with her, but when he looked towards the pizzeria Paul and Luna had gone inside of, he made a decision to get something to eat, and continue recording his observations from a safe, undetectable distance.  
  
---  
  
Paul and Luna entered the small pizzeria and once they were seated, she reached to the center of the table and retrieved a menu. Paul began to look around the restaurant and when his gaze came to rest on the door, he could see it open, and the man he had seen Luna talking to outside the post office had entered. He watched as the man took a seat on the other side of the room, but he could tell that the man was watching them rather intently. Rather than speak of his observances to Luna, Paul tried to ignore the strange emotions that were now coming to him, but it was obvious that he knew this man quite well indeed.

Before the Voyager probe had been sent into space, beings from Paul’s world had encountered other species. It stood to reason since their people were a race of intellectuals who sought knowledge and traveled the stars in order to obtain it. Paul was well aware that he had not been the first of his kind to visit Earth and fall in love with one of its inhabitants. Often there had been talk of a union between one of the beings of his world and an Earth woman, but there was no real record of this child until Paul had encountered her several weeks before. The sphere’s presence would prove beyond any doubt that a union was achieved.

Sighing deeply, Paul now realized that there was no way that he could tell Luna the truth; this was something she would have to discover on her own. Once she did, he and Scott would probably have no choice, but to disappear from her life.

“Paul?” Luna’s voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. “Is everything okay?”

When he did not offer her an answer, she turned around and looked in the direction of where his attention had shifted. When her gaze locked on those of the man called Nathaniel, she swallowed the lump in her throat and subconsciously reached inside her pocket and could feel the object in the bottom of the blazer she wore. As soon as she felt the metallic orb that rested there, a strange bolt of energy shot up her arm. “Paul?” She spoke his name, but when he did not respond, she took a deep breath. “He’s like you, isn’t he?”

When Paul still did not respond but instead began to stand up, she reached across the table and grabbed his arm. “No, please don’t go and leave me here alone,” she pleaded.

Paul stopped everything he was doing and turned around to face the young woman. “Luna, you have nothing to fear. I'm going to find out what he wants is all, and will be back in a few minutes,” he said as he reached over and patted her hand gently.

Luna nodded, slowly releasing his arm and allowing him to stand up and walk a few feet over to the table where the other man was sitting. She watched from the table for some moments, but after a few seconds passed, she abruptly stood up, threw some money onto the table, and ran out of the restaurant, fear and confusion now evident on her face. Once she had reached the park, she stopped running and allowed her breathing to return to normal.  
  
---  
  
“I’m surprised to see that you’ve returned,” Paul greeted the man as he sat down at the table across from him.

“Yes,” Nathaniel answered but did not offer any further information.

“Why did you?” Paul asked. Before Nathaniel could offer any sort of response, he continued speaking, his voice somewhat cross. “You made your point abundantly clear when we communicated some time ago. Luna was devastated and it has now taken her a great deal of time to overcome the pain your rejection has caused.”

“I realize that, Paul, but I’ve been watching her for some time after that, and I realized that it would be better for me to come back and to try to be a father to her,” Nathaniel said as he took a sip of his soda.

“Do you have a name you're using?”

“Yes, Nathaniel Roberts,” he said nodding.

Paul glanced back over towards the table where they had been sitting. Luna was now gone and he sighed deeply, knowing that she was probably reacting more out of fear than anything else. He put those observations into his next words. “I think she sensed something different about you.”

“Please, you must not tell her that I am her father, I would rather tell her that myself.”

Paul nodded, “I won't tell her who you are, but you’re going to have to explain to her why you came back, but in a way where she will sense that you care for her. She must not be led to believe that this is being done out of pity, she doesn’t want that, and I can’t say I would blame her for that.”

“I understand, I just don’t know where to begin, or if she will accept it as being the truth,” Nathaniel said.

“Luna is a very special young woman, and I believe that she will accept what you tell her, but you must tell her honestly that you will stay with her, and not plan to leave again. It would do very little good to come to her if you have no intention of staying with her.”

“She’s in a great deal of pain, isn’t she?” Nathaniel asked.

Paul nodded. “Yes, during the last couple of weeks, she has been able to cope better with her feelings about everything that has come about, but she desperately needs to feel love, and as a teacher, I cannot give her that which her father is only capable of giving.”

“I know I have to explain to her what had happened,” he said sadly. “I know that it perhaps it was my fault that her mother left her alone when she was a small child.”

“What do you mean?” Paul asked. “I remember when you returned home, that you had failed to tell anyone of what happened.”

“The truth is; Luna’s mother was not much older than your son, Paul. She was 18-years-old and alone when I came to observe life here. I remember coming into her home late that night and she was all alone. Her parents had left her there and from what I understood they would be gone for weeks at a time. She was very fragile and so dreadfully sad. I observed her from a distance for sometime before taking human form and coming to her, but before I did, I realized that there was a part of her that could sense my presence and this frightened her. So, I left her for a time to go and take human form.”

“Whose form did you take?” Paul asked as he remembered his own experience on his first trip to Earth.

“There was a young man, who had died in a car accident not far from where she was living, and I found him. He was called Joshua, and appeared to be about 25-years-old.”

“Then you went to her mother?” Paul finished.

“Yes,” Nathaniel said softly.

“Did you love Luna's mother, Nathaniel?” Paul asked gently.

“I didn’t really know what to call it, but I felt protective of her, and wanted to take care of her,” he said softly.

“What are your feelings about Luna?” Paul asked. “Do you still feel shame about her human side? Or can you accept her as being a part of her mother’s people?”

“I don’t know what made me convey that to you,” he answered.

“I think I do, my son calls it ‘fear’,” Paul said. “Right now the question I have for you is are you ready to face up to the fact that you haven’t seen your twenty-year-old daughter yet and that coming to her now may not be easy for either one of you?”

Nathaniel nodded, “I watched you teaching her, and thought maybe it would be better if I taught her since I am her father.”

“That would be best,” Paul agreed. “So now you must go to her, find her and tell her what is in your heart. She really does need you; much more than even my son needs me. She's been alone for much of her life, and the emptiness is easily detectable in her.”

Nathaniel stood up, “then I will go to her, right now. I cannot wait any longer.”  
  
---  
  
Luna was sitting alone on the shore of a small lake not far from the pizzeria. She knew that she should not have run away and that Paul would be upset at her for doing so, but she did not know what else to do. When she had turned around and saw Nathaniel inside the restaurant, her instincts told her that the best thing for her to do was to run away.

Instead of returning, she simply zipped up her coat and wrapped her arms snugly around herself. This proved a futile attempt at blocking the winter wind. Why did this man give her such a strange feeling? It seemed as though she had known him her entire life, but yet had never seen him before that day.

From where she was seated, she could see children playing together in the snow, oblivious to everything going on around them except their wintertime activities. How simple they had it, she thought all the while feeling this stinging sensation in the pit of her stomach. How strange and complex her life had become, and yet, there was nothing that could the fact that she was alone.

_Where do I come from?_ She asked herself. _I’m now torn between two cultures and my first name is case in point to my feeling like an oddity. Why had my mother named me something like Luna, a Spanish word meaning ‘moon’? Was she trying to convey something to me about some sort of alien heritage? Or was it merely coincidence that would enable others to ridicule me as I was growing up?_

“Luna Smith,” she heard her name being called in very much the same way Paul often called her. Of course, the voice did not belong to Paul; it was someone else calling out to her. She remained where she was but glanced up slightly and waited for the person who had called out to her to come over to where she was seated. Once they did, she turned to see that Nathaniel Roberts had come over and seated himself next to her. Instead of responding in a verbal fashion, she wrapped her arms even tighter around herself and waited for his next words to emerge.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered as he reached over and took one of her hands in his and turned it over. He then uncurled her fingers so the palm would face up. Eventually, she closed her eyes when she felt the weight of a metal object resting in her hand.

Some moments later, she finally found the courage to raise her head and look into the eyes of the man seated next to her. After several more seconds had passed, she lowered her head and stared down at the sphere resting in her hand. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she could suddenly hear his soft voice above her hammering heart. “You’ve been alone too long, Luna Smith. You have forgotten that part of yourself that is me.”

She nodded numbly as she rubbed her free hand against her skirt, and contrary to the freezing cold wind that surrounded her, she could feel her hands suddenly beginning to sweat. When she felt his hand reach over and grasp the one, which held the sphere, she began to experience the same dizzy feelings she had felt the day she had first met Paul. As these feelings began to overwhelm her, she realized that she was trying everything she could to remain conscious, but that was proving unsuccessful.

_No, don't pass out,_ she willed herself when she opened her eyes again and saw that the colors around the park had started to whirl about her in rapid succession. Seconds later, everything went black and her body collapsed in Nathaniel’s arms. The sphere he had placed in her hand fell, landed on the ground, and rolled a few centimeters before coming to a stop against the leg of the bench.

As soon as Nathaniel felt her limp body falling against his side, he awkwardly leaned over and retrieved his sphere. This object, he slipped into his pocket before wrapping his arms around her and holding tightly to her. He could feel her soft breath against his cheek, but realizing that she needed to get warm soon, he stood up with her limp body in his arms and managed to walk with her slowly out of the park and in the direction of the small restaurant where he and Paul had talked. He needed help and concluded that the best way to obtain it would be to use his sphere as a means to home in on Paul’s. 

He laid Luna down on the bench, his arm still wrapped around her upper torso to keep her from falling and he awkwardly reached into his pocket and pulled the sphere out. As he began to concentrate on the object in his hand, her eyes slowly opened.

“Daddy?” she moaned, her voice barely above a whisper. Nathaniel stopped everything he was doing and looked at her. It seemed obvious that she was still in some sort of a dream-state and was not fully aware of what had just happened.

Nathaniel nodded, his concentration broken when he heard her call him ‘Daddy’. He could see her heavy lidded but soft hazel eyes looking up at him, and after some moments of hesitation, he found his voice. “I’m here, Luna,” he said softly.

“Daddy,” she repeated licking her dry lips, her eyes opening somewhat wider, “you came back?”

Nathaniel returned the sphere to his pocket and wrapped her securely in his arms. “Yes, I’m here and I won’t ever leave you alone again, I promise.”

“W-why didn’t you come sooner?” she whispered, as her eyes filled with tears. Her head was still resting against his shoulder, as though she was too weak to even be able to sit up.

Nathaniel sighed deeply, “I was afraid,” he said simply.

“Afraid, but why?” she whispered.

Nathaniel looked at her, his eyes serene, “I want to explain everything to you, but here is not the right place. Is there somewhere we can go and talk, or are you too weak to move right now?”

“I think I’m okay now,” she answered softly as he helped her to sit up. Once she was in a sitting position, he helped her to stand up and she led him in the direction of where she lived. As they made their way through the park, she kept her gaze on the sidewalk in front of her. She still could not bring herself to even look at him as they reached the apartment building where she lived. Without thinking, she began to look around the area, all the while wondering if she would see Paul or Scott on the grounds. When she did not, she began to ponder if they had left without even saying ‘good-bye’. Sighing deeply, she led Nathaniel up the stairs and nervously reached inside her purse to search for the key as they reached the front door.

Her hands were shaking as she attempted to fumble with the key chain, but after some moments of trying, the object slipped from her fingers and landed on the ground near her feet. Instead of picking them up first, Nathaniel placed his hand on the doorknob and it clicked open. He then leaned down, picked her keys up, and extended them towards her.

Luna accepted the proffered object, and once the came inside, she closed the door. Once they were alone inside, she suddenly could feel the pain in her head and she rubbed her hands in her hair and groaned.

Nathaniel approached her several moments later. “Are you feeling all right?”

“Honestly?” she asked and once he nodded, she shook her head. “No, I feel awful, it seems like I am a walking migraine.”

“Migraine, what is that?” He asked, but when he saw her still leaning against the doorframe, he took her hand, led her over to the sofa and helped her to sit down.

Allowing this she rested her head in her hands. “It’s a headache, but they’re really intense. I’ve been getting them ever since I was a kid. They usually come when I start thinking about my father...uh you, or whenever I would touch the sphere.”

He sat down beside her, and extended his hands towards her as she moved her hands away from her face and looked at him. His sudden movement startled her and she backed hesitantly away from him.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered in a soothing voice. “I’m going to see if I can help you. It’s all right, Luna.” She relaxed slightly, and he reached over, placed his hands against her forehead, and upon feeling the intense pain that was in her head, he gasped. As his hands moved around her temples, she felt a bolt of pain shoot through her head and she moaned once again. Upon finding the places where the pain was the most extreme, he kept his hands where they were and concentrated. After a few seconds, he removed his hands from her forehead, and she could feel the tension in her head easing somewhat. “Is that better?” he asked.

She nodded weakly. “What did you do?”

“I wanted to help you,” he answered. “Did I scare you?”

“Paul and his son have been living here for the last few weeks, so I’ve kind of gotten used to hanging around with people with weird talents,” she said dryly as she tried to hide the trace of sarcastic fear that was evident in her voice. She was not going to admit it, but she was extremely frightened by having him in her home and she hoped that he would leave soon.

He looked at her intently, not fully understanding, but after several moments, he sighed and spoke. “I know that you probably have a great many questions and I will answer every one as best I can. You must know that I did not come here out of pity, Luna. I came because after I had communicated with Paul, I realized that it was important for me to be here for you.”

“Y-you rejected me,” she whispered as she tried without success at concealing the tears that were streaming from beneath her eyes.

“I know that,” he said just as softly, “and for that I’m sorry.”

“I think you are ashamed of a part of me I cannot change,” she said, her voice raising slightly, the pain etched in her words.

“Where did you get that idea?” he asked, his voice filled with sadness at hearing his earlier words thrown back into his face. “Did Paul tell you what I said in our communications?”

“No, Paul said nothing to me about what you really said to him, I could simply draw my own conclusions about it from talking to him. I can also tell because your face is red and you look embarrassed.” She looked away from him. “It’s true, though, isn’t it? You’re ashamed of the human side of me.”

“No,” he objected, “I could never be ashamed of you, you’re my daughter. We are very similar to the people here, Luna, we do make mistakes. Relaying that message to Paul was one such mistake. I came back because I realized that I do have a responsibility to you.”

She looked down at her lap. “Is that all I am to you, simply a responsibility or a burden?”

“No, you’re much more to me than that,” Nathaniel said gently and stood up and kneeled down in front of her, his blue eyes looking deeply into her own. “I don’t have such a good English vocabulary, but I want you to at least listen to what I have to say to you. Luna, you’re my daughter, and as much as I am capable of human emotion, I do care about you.”

Luna looked up at him unsure of what to say. Eventually, she found her voice and spoke, her words laced in sadness. “Why did you wait so long to tell me this? If I was so significant to you, couldn’t you have come to me before now? I mean; I spent my entire life alone with no family. On holidays, I would sit here alone and watch people through the window wishing and hoping that I would one day know what it feels like to have a family.” As she was speaking the tears began to stream down her cheeks, and her voice began to tremble. “Why did you leave me? If you cared about me, you would have stayed, or at least come back after the Smiths died.” She broke down at this moment, and began to weep softly all the while unable to even make eye contact with him.

Nathaniel reached over and grabbed one of her hands in his own. “Please, don’t cry,” he said softly and when her tearstained gaze met his he continued to speak, his voice soft. “I don’t know why I did the things I did, I guess because I was frightened, and I really didn’t know how to be a father. I didn’t intend to hurt you, but I know I did. I watched over you during the past few weeks, and I realized that I should have come to you when Paul contacted me the first time. I truly regret not having done that.”

She wiped her hand over her eyes. “Do you know where my mother is?” she asked softly.

He shook his head, “no, after I left, I thought everything with her would be okay, and that she would be capable of taking care of you, but your mother was young, a little older than Scott is now, and I overestimated her.”

“What was her name?” she asked.

“Sabrina Connor.”

“Did you love her?” Luna asked.

“I didn’t know what love was, but I did care for her,” he answered softly. “Before I met her, I had been watching over her for some time before I made contact with her.”

“Tell me what happened, please,” she asked.

Nathaniel took a deep breath before he began to speak. “Sabrina was living in a small town in Connecticut, and she had been spending much of her childhood alone. I had been observing her as a sort of archeological and psychological expedition. I wanted to study the psychological attachment that humans have on one another. It’s a very complicating idea to explain, but because your mother had been alone much of her life, it seemed as though she was an ideal subject of study.” He sighed deeply, and continued to speak, his words beginning to bring her with him back into the time when he had come to Earth the first time...

**November 1966**

He had visited the Earth on many occasions, but only as an observer from the safety of the spacecraft he had been piloting. This time, his curiosity had gotten the better of him as he began to observe a lonely young girl named Sabrina Connor. Although she had come of age, her parents had neglected her so often by leaving her home alone. On one such occasion, it was to take a two-week trip to Nevada.

As he continued to observe her activities, he noticed a deep sadness that was manifest in her. It had been that way from the moment he watched her parents driving away without so much as a look back. In her hand, she had held the money they had given to her for food. Her isolation had enveloped her and as time progressed, she began losing weight from lack of nutrition.

At first, his objective had been to learn about the psychological aspects of this young woman, but later she had become his consuming obsession. He continued to keep track of her activities and realized a great many things about her; specifically that she was in desperate need of a friend.

After several days had passed with his simple and disconnected observations, he made the decision to journey to the planet’s surface and attempt to make contact with her. The night that he arrived, the blue light that depicted who he was drifted throughout her family’s home. He could see her on her bed, asleep, his essence coming closer to her and the moment when he had reached her, she had opened her eyes, seen him, and reacted to his light in fear. “Please, don't be afraid,” he had softly pleaded with her, but his signals were not understood and he could only watch as she got off the bed, and run through the house attempting to escape.

At that moment, it occurred to him that he must find a human body to dwell inside of, in order for her to accept, understand or even hear that his intentions were peaceful. His essence left the house and he traveled quickly to where he found the body of Joshua Hudson, the car accident he had been in, had gone undiscovered.

Cloning the body of Joshua, he decided to return to the house and try to reach Sabrina. He knew that he only had three days time to make his intentions known. If he had not returned after the specified time had passed, he would die.

When he returned, he spotted her in the living room and instead of simply knocking on the front door, he had entered the house and approached her. When she saw him, she began to scream.

“No, please, don’t do that,” he implored her, but his pleas seemed to have been futile because some seconds later, she scrambled to her feet and ran out of the room. He followed her through the house until eventually he caught up with her. He then reached out and grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back towards where he was standing. As she tried to squirm her way out of his hold, he finally wrapped both his arms around her and held her although she was screaming in terror.

After some moments, he placed his hand firmly, but gently, over her mouth to muffle the screams that emerged from the terrified girl. “Shhh, it’s alright, I won’t harm you,” he whispered softly into her ear, once her screams died away and her sobs had replaced them. It was clear that his words had done very little to ease the fear that she was experiencing and she continued to fight against the hold he had on her.

By this time, she had managed in her fight to escape from him to strike his shinbone with the heel of her foot. He moaned and reached down to rub the effected area, but as he did, the hold he had on her had become loose and she managed to pull away from him.

She ran hysterically down the hallway, and into her parents’ room. Once inside, she slammed the door behind her, and locked herself inside. Her fear was mounting as she heard his plodding footsteps coming down the hallway and approaching the door to the room where she was hiding. She eventually could hear him turning the doorknob and she wondered if he would be able to break the door down. Finally, not knowing what else to do, she crawled under the bed, and remained there her fear mounting with each second. She knew that there was no way she could even call for help, simply because he would discover where she was hiding. In the darkness, she began to weep softly once again, her tears falling down over her cheeks and her hands trembling as she tried to wipe them away.

Back out in the hallway, Joshua walked slowly in the direction of the door he had seen her open and go into. When he reached the room, he tried to turn the knob in order to open the door, but eventually realized that it was locked. He placed his hand on the knob and the lock gave way. He then opened the door, entered the room, and walked straight over to the bed where she was hiding. Once there, he got down on his hands and knees and looked under the bed and saw her peering out from beneath it. This reminded him of frightened kitten trapped in a corner.

“Please don’t be afraid, I mean you no harm,” he repeated, extending his hand under the bed in an effort to get her to come out. “Here, let me help you out from under there,” he said, his voice now considerably softer. When she did nothing, he spoke again, “everything will be okay, I won’t hurt you,” he repeated, his hand still stuck under the bed. After some moments of silence, she hesitantly reached out and allowed him to help her out from under the bed. Once she was sitting on the floor, he moved over so that he would be sitting next to her.

“W-who are you?” was all she managed to say to him.

“I mean you no harm,” he repeated for the third time. “I am called Joshua.”

“S-Sabrina Connor,” she stammered looking briefly over at him.

“You’re frightened of me?” he asked, but his question sounded more like a statement of fact than a question. “Why is that, especially when I have told you I wouldn’t hurt you?”

She could do nothing except to simply nod her head.

“Tell me why I frighten you,” he said gently.

“I-I saw you last night, but you were different, a light, and then when you came here and you tried to kidnap me,” she said softly.

Joshua sighed deeply, “I’m sorry I frightened you. I don't always know how to approach your people, you see, you’re the first human being I have ever met, but I wouldn’t harm you, Sabrina, I want to help you.”

She nodded as though she understood him, but after a few seconds, she tried to swallow the lump that had lodged itself in her throat. “Then – you really were here before, weren’t you?”

“Yes, I was.”

“Why?” She asked.

“To observe,” he began. “I did not come here with the intention of making contact, I was merely watching you. I didn’t come here with the intention of doing anything more than just that. When you reacted to me in fear last night, I thought it would be wise if I found a human body to dwell in, so that I may speak to you and you wouldn’t be afraid if I appeared like you.”

“But, why would you choose me when there are so many other interesting people around?”

“I think you underestimate yourself. You’re a very interesting planet earth person, Sabrina,” he said all the while not certain if the vocabulary he had used would be understood by the frightened girl. When she gave him a strange look, he began to speak once again. “My vocabulary is quite limited, I'm afraid, but to answer your inquiry, I have been observing you, and after a time I began to wait for the moment to make contact with you.”

“Y-you mean, you want to take me out there and study me like a rat in a biology lab?” she shuddered, the fear returning to her voice and she backed slowly away from him.

“No, my mission does not mean that I would do such things to you. The truth is, I could not ever take you to my home, you would die there,” he said softly reaching out and taking her hand. “The truth is, I only have a short amount of time to be with you, and all that I wish to do is talk to you and learn from you before I must return. Will you allow me that opportunity?”

“That’s all you want?” She asked.

“Yes,” he said nodding. “That’s all nothing more.”

She looked at him and lowered her head as she thought about this. If she were to send him away then she would have no one to talk to or spend time with. Although she was still afraid of him, she knew that with him present, she would have no reason to fear another stranger coming into her home. Now that this had happened once, she was terrified at the notion of being alone again. While she did not want to trust him, but she found something compelling about him, something that told her that she would be all right as long as he was with her. After what seemed like eternity for both of them, she hesitantly nodded.

Joshua smiled gently at her once she had offered him an affirmative answer. He stood up and offered her his hand. She gingerly reached out, accepted it, and they walked out of the room. Once they had reached the living room, she sat down on the floor and turned on the television set. He sat next to her, and began to observe her actions, his eyes gentle as he watched her.

“Were you going to ask me questions?” she asked, turning around and seeing him staring at her. She spoke soft, her voice still etched with traces of fear.

“No, I simply would like to watch you for now, all you must do is to behave as though I am not here,” he responded.

“I don’t think I can do that,” she said softly.

“Why is that?” he asked innocently and watched as she reached over, grabbed a tissue, and wiped it over her eyes.

“Because, knowing you’re just sitting there watching me makes me feel rather like a monkey in a zoo,” she whispered.

“There’s something else besides that, Sabrina Connor. Will you tell me why it is you want to not have me watch you, but rather to have me here to speak with you?” He asked. He actually knew the answer, but somehow he knew that it would help her if she were to speak of it. He had been aware of it since he had helped her out from under the bed.

“I’m lonely and sometimes it’s scary to be here by myself. Not having you to talk to me is sort of like being alone. I’ve been alone for much of my life, and I have never felt what it feels like to have someone just talk to me or care about me.”

“Care?” he looked at her somewhat confused.

“It means to have someone say I mean something to them or that I’m important. I guess it’s kind of like love, but the thing is, both feelings are somewhat new and strange to me.”

“Is that the reason you feel so unhappy?”

“I guess so,” she whispered sadly but lowered her head. When she looked back over at him, she could see compassion in his blue eyes.

Joshua reached over and took her hand gently in his own. “I’m sorry you feel so sad, Sabrina, and if you would like, I will stay here with you until I return home. I hope that I can help you not to be sad anymore.”  
  
---  
  
The three days at the home of Sabrina passed quickly, and on the third day, he woke up and came out of his room. He knew that this would be the day that he would go. Over the past three days, he had learned a great deal about this young girl; of her hopes, and dreams, but one of the things he noticed about her, was how vulnerable she really was. He wondered if he could go home and leave her now, after he had started to feel a strong bond to her.

His thoughts were interrupted when she came out of her own room. She had pulled her long auburn hair back and was standing shyly in the doorway. “Good morning,” she said softly. “I guess this is the day, huh?”

He nodded but approached where she was standing, and took her hands gently in his own. “You’re going to be okay, Sabrina Connor,” he whispered.

“That I doubt, but I wish now that I could go with you. It doesn’t matter anymore what would happen to me, I just want to be with you,” she said, her voice now filled with sadness.

He wrapped her in his arms, “I wish you could go too, but this request is just not possible. I must go and you must stay, I told you that the first night I came. You know that you would die there and I don’t think I could bear to lose you that way, Earth Girl.”

‘Earth Girl’, he always called her, and it made her feel a sense of being different, but also strangely special. Both feelings were so new to her, and she shyly looked up at him from the sanctuary of his embrace. Without thinking of what she was doing, she reached over and caressed his face with the side of her hand. This was one part of him, she would never forget, and he could sense those strong human emotions that were coming from her when she touched him. He tightened his hold on her as she looked up at him and could see the love in his eyes. Those eyes gave her a message, and that was that this ‘man’, this being from far away truly loved her and had come with a mission of fulfilling her greatest wish.

Seconds later, their lips joined in a loving kiss. She had tried to explain to him about love and what it really meant, but he never realized that love was so special as what he felt when he held this young woman in his arms.

Two hours later, he watched her from the window of the craft that had come to pick him up. Sabrina’s face had been streaked with tears and he saw how she held the small silver sphere lovingly in her hands as he watched her grow smaller and smaller and then disappear from view. It wasn't until he returned home that he remembered to tell her about the baby, but by then, it was too late.

**December 1987**

Nathaniel stopped speaking as he looked at his daughter. “Do you understand what I told you?”

“You loved her,” she whispered. “You didn’t know what it was called, but you did.”

“You are far more experienced with human emotion than I am, Luna,” he said softly, “You would know better as to what it was called.”

“But, I don’t understand why you were afraid to come back,” she whispered.

“I was afraid of them discovering that I am not from this world. It is like the situation that our friends, Paul and Scott, face,” he began. “They have been hunted by the government since Paul returned two years ago, Luna, and it is not safe for them. I feared that if I came back, that I wouldn’t be able to adapt as well as Paul has. He has an amazing adaptability in our world, but I do not possess this.”

“Then what you’re saying is that you don’t want to stay with me,” she said softly. “You’re going to leave me behind, just like my mother did, aren’t you?”

“No, I won’t leave you, that I have already promised,” he said gently as he rested his hand on her shoulder. “I came back to guide you, Luna Smith, I want to be your father.”  
  
---  
  
Paul arrived at the apartment some ten minutes later and knocked on the door. After Luna had opening it, he came inside to see that Nathaniel was seated on the sofa. He offered a cordial smile as he headed in the direction of Luna’s guest room.

“When Scott gets back here, we’ll leave,” he said.

“You knew him, didn’t you?” she asked Paul.

“Yes, we’ve been friends for many generations,” Nathaniel said before Paul could respond. Upon hearing this answer, Paul nodded in confirmation.

“Do you really have to go? Isn't there some way that you could stay?” she asked.

“I told you two weeks ago that if Nathaniel did come back, Scott and I would be leaving. Now he is here, and you must learn the rest from your father. Don’t ever believe that we would forget you, because we won’t,” Paul said gently. He looked over at Nathaniel. “I think what you did for her is the most priceless gift there is.”

Nathaniel shrugged his shoulders, “I suppose now I understand why it was that you came back.” He looked over at his daughter, the pride evident in his eyes as he regarded her. “I would never have imagined that she would grow into such a beautiful and talented person.”

“Wait until you see how much she’s learned,” Paul said softly and walked over to her. “You’re going to be okay now. You taught your father about unconditional love just by being yourself, and you’ve shown me a great deal as well. It has been a joy for me to be your teacher these past two weeks, and to see how far you’ve come.”

“Will I ever see you or Scott again?” she asked.

“That is a question that I do not have the answer to,” Paul answered honestly. “You might, but, you must remember that your father and you are both connected to Scott and me, you always will be. All you have to do is hold the sphere in your hand and you can send a message to us whenever you like. Your father is now here, and you must never be afraid to ask him what it is you wish to know.”

“I won’t forget,” she said before throwing her arms around him and holding tightly to him. Moments passed and tears began to stream effortlessly down her cheeks. “Thank you for coming and finding me. If it weren’t for you, I would still be questioning the things about me that are different.”

Paul nodded and at that moment, Scott walked through the door and saw the three of them standing in the apartment. The teenager could sense immediately that something out of the ordinary was happening. When he reached into his pocket and felt his sphere, he nodded and spoke, his voice laced in awe. “Wow, talk about an intergalactic audience.”

“You can sense me?” Nathaniel asked looking at Paul’s son.

“Well, yeah, I can,” Scott said and when he noticed Luna’s face, he knew that it was time for them to go now that the girl’s father had returned. “I guess this means we’re taking off, huh?” The disappointment was in his voice, but more because he hated the thought of being on the road at Christmas. Internally, he was really glad to see that her father had finally come to his senses and returned to the place where he was needed.

Paul nodded affirming the question from his son. The teenager shrugged his shoulders and went to pack their stuff. Paul remained in the living room for some moments and then after some time, he followed his son.

Nathaniel and Luna remained in the living room. “Are you all right?” he finally asked.

“I think so,” she answered, “but I’m going to miss them.”

“I know,” he said, “but they have their mission ahead of them, they need to find Scott’s mother and become a family. My mission was to find you, so that we could become a family.”

“I never knew what it felt like to have a family,” she said softly. “It feels nice – Daddy.”

Nathaniel smiled weakly upon hearing her words, the slight redness coloring his cheeks. “If I had only known what I had missed out on, I would have come back here a long time ago.”  
  
---  
  
Paul and Scott came out of their room some five minutes later to see Luna and Nathaniel standing in the front hallway. He could see the blue light coming from her hand and knew that she was holding onto the sphere and had started concentrating on levitating the ceramic lamp.

As they quietly slipped outside, Paul smiled weakly at her before closing the door behind them.

After she managed to levitate the lamp and then set it back on the dresser, she looked towards the door briefly, but then back at her father. Her eyes were shining brightly as she reached over and brushed her hand across the ceramic base of the lamp. She then looked up at her father as she put the sphere back into her pocket.

Nathaniel was smiling proudly as his next words emerged. “Now I know what Paul meant when he said that I should see what you have learned. I never thought that you would have taken to this so naturally.”

“I’m not so sure about that, I was terrified the first time I saw the light,” she confessed.

“Just like your mother was,” he said softly.

“Should we try to find her, like Paul and Scott are trying to find Scott’s mother?” she asked.

“I don’t really know,” he said softly. “What is it you want to do?”

“I think I would rather stay here,” she said, “maybe I can go back to school and get a degree in something. Does it sound selfish of me to want to stay here?”

Nathaniel smiled weakly, “no, I think considering how much change you have endured in your life, staying in one place would probably be a good thing for you.”

“What about you? Are you going to be okay doing that?” she asked the concern in her voice now centered on him.

“As long as we’re together, but I probably do need to get a job,” he said.

“What kind of job did you have before?” she asked.

“I was by Earth standards someone who studies mental behavior of a society of beings,” he answered.

“It’s called a sociologist,” she said.

He nodded and filed a new term to memory.

“What did the real Nathaniel Roberts do?” she asked. “From what I understand, Paul said to me that he has to work as a photographer so people wouldn’t find out who he really is.”

Nathaniel sighed deeply and dug in the pocket of the trench coat he was wearing. When he pulled out a small plastic card, he looked down at it and began to read it to his daughter out loud, “Special Agent Nathaniel Roberts, FSA.”

Luna giggled despite herself. “Maybe you should stick to Sociology.”

“Why is that?” he asked innocently.  
  
---  
  
On Christmas-Eve Luna awoke. She couldn't hear any sounds in the apartment and she guessed that her father was still sleeping. She crawled out of bed and walked slowly down the hall in the direction of the kitchen.

As she reached the small kitchen, pulled down a small box of cereal and retrieved the milk from the refrigerator, she sighed deeply. Ever since the excitement that had taken hold of her life since her father’s return, she had completely forgotten about Frank. She knew that she really did love him, and he was part of the reason she had suggested that they stay where they were. At that precise moment she felt completely torn between the man she loved, and the father she had just met.

“Good morning,” she heard a voice and glanced up to see that her father had entered the room.

“Hi,” she offered, “You want some breakfast?”

He nodded and sat down at the table as she stood up.

“How'd you sleep?” she asked.

“Fine,” he said.

“Well at least one of us did, I was up most of the night tossing and turning,” she said as she put some bread in the toaster and pressed the lever down.

“You’re not sick again, are you?” he asked.

“No, I’m okay, I just have a lot on my mind,” she said honestly.

Nathaniel looked at her intently, “I think I understand what you’re feeling. It’s about your friend, Frank, isn’t it?”

“How’d you know?”

He smiled gently at her. “Remember when I told you that I had been watching over your mother for some time before I made contact with her?”

“Yes,” she whispered as she tried to put two and two together. “That means, you were watching over me, too?”

“I could understand the feelings you were having for him better than you think, because I had them for your mother. I figured that if I was able to tell you about what happened with us, it might help you to discover what you really feel for him.”

“You said you didn’t know human emotion, but you seem to know my emotions better than I do,” she said softly.

“You’re much easier to decipher, you’re a part of me,” he said softly.

“I guess that means I should go and do some shopping, today.”

“Shopping, but why?” Nathaniel looked at her with raised eyebrows. This reminded her of Paul, and she began to laugh.

“Well, tomorrow’s Christmas, and I still have to find you a gift.”

“Teach me the meaning of this,” Nathaniel said.

Luna smiled. “It’s a tradition here, but the concept started two thousand years ago, when God sent his son to Earth.”

“God?”

“Some people believe that God is the creator of all things. Don’t they have God where you come from?” she asked. When he looked at her somewhat puzzled as she smiled. Scott had told her that he often taught his father things about life on earth, now she understood why. “Christmas is the birth of Jesus, God’s son, and when he grew up, he traveled from place to place, teaching mankind about unconditional love...”  
  
---  
  
Frank arrived at Luna’s apartment that same afternoon. He had not seen her since the day she had gone back to work. Although he knew that she was going to spend the holidays with Paul and Scott, he still could not imagine not seeing her. In his hand, he carried a small wrapped gift. Her love for minerals didn't go unnoticed and he had found a special one for her, which was shaped like a crescent moon.

He knocked on the door, and was somewhat taken aback when a blonde middle-aged man opened it. “Hello?” the man greeted him as he backed away from the open door so he could come inside.

“I’m Frank Giddings, is Luna here?” he asked.

“No, she said that she had to do some Christmas shopping,” he answered. “I’m Nathaniel Roberts, her father.”

“You’re Luna’s father?” Frank asked somewhat skeptically and when he received an affirmative nod, he began to fidget. “I’m sorry, but I thought you weren’t coming to see her. She told me you didn’t want to, and she was very upset about it.”

“I know, she told me. I realized soon after that that I had made a mistake by refusing to come and, well I changed my mind,” he said. “I’m pleased to meet you, Frank.”

“Yeah, likewise,” Frank began to move the small gift from one hand to the other, and after some time had passed, he sighed deeply and began to speak again. “I guess I’ll have to come back later and see if she’s at home.”

“You’re more than welcome to come inside and wait for her,” Nathaniel offered.

“No, that’s all right, I’ll come by another time. Will you tell her I stopped by?” he asked.

Nathaniel nodded, but before Frank could leave the apartment, he reached out and touched the arm of the younger man. “You know I gave up a great deal when I decided to come back here and be the father I’m supposed to be.”

“Yeah, so why are you telling me this?”

“If it hadn’t been for her friends, she probably would have given up and hidden the pain she experienced away.” He paused. “The reason I’m telling you this is because I realized what an amazing person she is. Maybe one day you’ll see that quality inside of her as well.”

“But, I do,” Frank objected.

“Then why haven’t you told her that? You have been leaving her guessing all this time and I think it’s going to be up to you to take that step. You can’t very well expect her to,” Nathaniel said.

“But, I’m her boss,” he said.

“So? You’re also a person, and even bosses have feelings, right?”

Frank looked into the blue eyes of the man; his words sounding remotely like those, which had come from Paul. He glanced down at his hands and realized that they were now sweating. “Is Paul or Scott here?”

“No, they left two days ago,” Nathaniel said. “Luna will be sad to have missed you. Are you sure you don’t want to come in. I can make some coffee or something?”

Frank declined the invitation and without saying another word, he left the apartment and Nathaniel closed the door.

Downstairs, Frank’s thoughts turned first from Paul’s words to those he had heard coming from Nathaniel. How was it that both Paul and Luna’s father knew that he had felt compelled to deny the feelings he had for the young woman who worked for him? As he walked down the sidewalk in the direction of his car, he glanced up, and could see her coming up the street.

Nathaniel had been right, because she appeared to be loaded down with bags and parcels. He watched her for several moments, all the while noticing that she looked prettier than usual and now had a genuine smile on her face.

Upon recognizing him standing on the sidewalk next to his car, she approached. “Hi Frank,” she greeted him.

“Hi, Luna, I just stopped by your place to see if you were home,” he said.

“You met my dad?”

“Yes,” he answered. “But, I thought you said that he didn’t want to come see you. What happened?”

“I guess, he had a change of heart,” she answered. “It all happened rather suddenly.” She stopped speaking when she saw the troubled expression on his face. Sighing deeply, she extended her free hand and rested it on his arm. “You look a little troubled, are you all right?” This time, when she felt a surge of energy from him, she felt immediately good. She could somehow sense what he had been hiding from her all this time and this made her inwardly glow.

“Uh, I just wanted to bring you this,” he said indicating the small package he carried. Hesitantly, he extended it to her.

“Thank you,” she said, “I have something for you too, but I need to wrap it first.”

Frank smiled, “then maybe I can come by on the 26th if that would be okay with you.”

“Sure, that’d be great, and maybe you can get to know my dad a little better.”

“Things have really worked out well for you, haven’t they?” he asked.

“I guess,” she said. “But, you know Paul and Scott left two days ago, right?”

“Your dad told me, but I guess you and him have already made plans for Christmas, huh?” Frank said and self-consciously glanced down at his watch.

“We’re not doing that much just staying home and getting to know each other a bit better,” Luna said.

“Oh well, I guess I’d better get going,” he said and started to pull the keys for his car out of his pocket.

She watched these actions for several moments. Next, she watched as he opened the door and was about to climb behind the wheel. Now, more than ever before, she wanted to do whatever she could to get him to stop. After he had closed the door, she dropped the parcels on the ground, and began to knock the car window. “Frank, I quit,” she called out over the revving motor of the car.

In response to this, he cut the motor, and rolled down the window. “What did you say?” he asked.

“I won’t be going back to work at the post office anymore,” she said. “I’m starting classes next semester at the Community College and won’t have time.”

Frank got out of the car and looked at her once her words started sinking in. “You’re quitting?”

“Yes,” she answered somewhat shyly. “I can’t work there anymore anyway, because all I seem to be doing lately is daydreaming about my boss. It’s not very professional of me, I know.” She looked down at her feet, but when he did not respond, she speak deeply, her confession had been a mistake.

He reached out and grasped her shoulder gently. When she made eye contact with him, he spoke, his throat parched. “You mean; you like me?”

“Yes, very much,” she whispered.

“And you would quit working for me because...” his voice trailed.

“…I am in love with you,” she finished as she nodded weakly her gaze still on the ground. “Yes, it’s true. I tried not to show it, Frank, really I did, but during the last few weeks, so much has happened to me. I can’t explain it, but I realized how much you mean to me.”

Frank looked at her, but after a second, the words that Paul and Nathaniel had said had come back to him. He wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly in his embrace. “It’s all right, Luna, you weren’t the only one trying to conceal their true feelings. I’m just as guilty of it as you.” He pulled back from the embrace so he could give her a long and gentle kiss. When it ended, he looked deeply into her hazel eyes and smiled shyly. “Why is it you decided to tell me how you felt?”

“I didn’t really know until I heard the story about my parents, then I realized that I couldn’t imagine my life without you. I didn’t want to risk loosing you just because of a job.” She looked deeply into his eyes, “a job I can get anywhere, but someone like you only comes along once in a lifetime.”

“Paul and your father were right about the significance of love,” he said softly. “It does surpass everything else in the world.”

Luna smiled and reached inside her pocket and felt the sphere she carried. If only he knew just how significant the words from both Paul and her father really were. Maybe one day she would find the courage within herself to tell him the truth about her family. Right now, the best thing for her to do was to bask in the wonderful feeling of having a family and being in love.

She broke the embrace with him, picked up the parcels, and together, they walked hand in hand back towards the building where she and her father lived. For Luna Smith, everything felt complete. A silent tear slid down her cheek and she squeezed the hand of Frank Giddings one more time.

The end


End file.
